Fate Kaleid Liner Coltheart
by Seiker Hikaru
Summary: Edge Coltheart is a young but amazingly powerful and talented Magus. His family sent him to Fuyuki city due to the abundant leylines and source of mana in the air to assist with his training. But, on his first night within the city, the young magus stumbles across something that drags him into a life he honestly wants out of. Primsa Illya centered.
1. Chapter 1

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **A/N: Fair warning ahead of time: OC is justifiably and slightly OP! It'll make sense as it goes.**

 **Chapter 1: Coltheart**

 _ **Priavte Airplane**_

"Albert, tell me something… WHY ON EARTH AM I LEAVING AMERICA TO GO TO FUYUKI CITY?!"

The one yelling in his seat aboard the private family jet was a ten year old boy who's features were pale and gave off a mature-if somewhat girly-look, if only because of his sharp, pale sky blue eyes. His hair was pitch black and bore a few white streaks similar to tiger stripes going down the right side of the layered spikes and tufts. His outfit consisted of a blue coat that had white fur lining that showed on the hem, collar, and sleeve cuffs, the upper part of the sleeves tied onto his thin arms by black ribbons, and the sleeves bore black stripes that had red x stitches going down them as well with silver crosses depicted on the cuffs, the simple front of the jacket, which was styled in a fashion of a time long past, left open to show a black print t-shirt with a logo for some game on it, jeans that were worn at the knees with some tears, and canvas sneakers that had the laces tucked into the shoe and had obviously seen a lot of wear and tear.

"Master Edge, it's to further your training. While your mana supply, as well as the vast quantity and quality of your magic circuits, may be exponential and on a level that puts you, a young boy, near ones who have been studying for years to increase their powers, you are, at the core, still a child who has little control over his power." The butler in front of the boy stated.

"I can control my magic just fine!" Edge snapped, and with more control to his tone, one could hear there was a slight edge to the prepubescent tone.

"Then please, young master, recite your personal information as a Magus. Magic circuit quantity and quality, as well as your alignments." Albert stated, and Edge sighed.

"I have 60 inborn magic circuits and subs that number 40 each, and each circuit has an output of 2000 units of magical energy, despite the size of my body. My main elemental alignment is to the imaginary element of Nothingness, which is what allows me to both store and form the swords that my family possesses, as well as the Sky element, which is why I can access the blades long thought lost to the Ether of our Reality Marble. My Origin is unique, as I have twin origins: Forging and Reforming. My Origin of Forging the Origin that has been passed down through my family since ancient times when we were simple blacksmiths. But, my second Origin of Reforming is what gives me the proficiency with our magic that I do, as I can do what most of my bloodline couldn't without physical aide. And with those Origins and my Alignments, I am considered the most powerful Coltheart Blade Magic wielder in generations… but, I can't use all of my power due to my body, despite being at it's peak for a boy my age, is incapable of handling that high of an output, and so, I currently have magic seals that automatically life as I can handle more power." Edge stated this all like he'd said it dozens of times, every word spot on, and he crossed his arms and brought his legs up onto the chair, his attempt at looking serious just coming across as rather childish, "Happy?"

"Good job young master… now, as for why you are being sent to Fuyuki City is due to the power and concentration of the Leylines within that location. It's so that hopefully, by being in an area with a high concentration of prana, you can learn better control over your powers." Albert stated in the same calm tone as usual, and Edge leaned on the arm rest, staring out the window.

"Oh really? Hagh, father has the craziest of ideas." Edge muttered, "How much longer?"

"Sir, we're actually coming in to land right now."

"HUH?!"

Albert nodded as Edge blinked, the young boy placing his head in his palms.

"How long was I sleeping?" Edge muttered.

"Almost the entire flight young master. I must say, you are rather quiet when you are sleeping. I expected you to be the type who talks in their sleep." Albert chuckled, Edge sticking his tongue out at him and tugging on an eyelid.

XXXXXXX

"FINALLY!"

Edge didn't ever bother actually walking down the steps that led to the runway, instead sliding down the rolling staircase and spinning, soon standing to his full height of a good 4'9, which was rather tall considering his age.

"Young master, I would caution you to be more careful. Your father would be most displeased if you injured yourself during one of your stuns… again." Albert sighed as he walked down the steps, and Edge turned on his heel, pointing at the butler with his right hand, his left hand on his hip.

"I know perfectly well what I'm doing Albert! I may have no muscle definition whatsoever, but for a ten year old, my body is in peak physical condition, mentally _and_ physically! I am a Magus of the Coltheart family, and as the next head, it is my duty to be able to perform any feat I can put my mind to!" Edge stated, putting a serious tone to his voice, "Now, I wonder what kind of exclusive video games I can by while I am here?"

Albert felt a small sense of despair as Edge went completely off of his earlier topic, though he couldn't blame the boy, being a mere ten years of age, it made sense that, even as the eventual head of the most powerful Magus family in America, he'd have interests and hobbies that fit his age.

"Master, we can do some of your… hobby shopping later. For now, we need to proceed to our new place of residence and get you ready for your first day of school. The paperwork for your transfer was filed in before we arrived, and they are expecting you tomorrow." Albert stated, pushing Edge along until they reached a parked limo that was having bags packed into it.

"Huh? School? You're kidding right? I've skipped every grade up until middle school so far, so why the heck am I being sent to a normal school?!" Edge demanded, yelping when Albert pushed him into the limo, the boy muttering under his breath as he got onto one of the seats, Albert taking the other one.

"Your father wanted you to… well, have a fuller experience while you are here in Fuyuki, and so, arranged for you to transfer into the local elementary school." Albert mused as he started going through things on a digital tablet, handing it to Edge.

"Great… I'm just gonna have to sit this one out and roll with it, won't I?" Edge murmured, "I mean, not like anything interesting is gonna go down…"

"Well, I did see a name on your class roster that might interest you quite a bit… apparently, one of your soon to be classmates is a member of the Einzbern family." Albert stated, and Edge nearly fell out of his seat.

"WHAT?! But the Einzbern's haven't been heard from in generations! Why would one of them be in an ordinary school?! That makes no sense!" Edge shouted, actually falling out of his chair this time when the limo lurched forward, landing face first on the floor, "owowowowow…."

"Yes, I was confused myself. But, perhaps there is a reason we cannot expect. But, if I were you young master, I would not confront this Einzbern. For all we know, they have no idea if they even know of their lineage." Albert stated.

"That makes even less sense than them going to an ordinary school. Why would someone who is a member of one of the greatest mage families to exist not know of their origins?" Edge muttered, looking up and planting his chin on the ground, letting himself lay flat.

"I do not know myself young master. But, please do not approach them and question them about who they are… though I'm sure you'll be able to find out who it is by sight alone. Those Einzbern's have very defining physical traits." Albert murmured, putting a hand on his chin.

"Silver white hair and red eyes. You could spot an Einzbern in a crowd like a sore thumb." Edge murmured, sitting upright, "So what do you suggest I do? Act like I have absolutely no ideaaaa… that's exactly what you're going to say I should do isn't it?"

"Your genius intellect does not fail you young master. Yes, please, keep any information about the world of magic on the down low. Unless you find out that this Einzbern knows what magic is." Albert murmured, and Edge nodded, running his hand along his neck, a brief glimpse of a strip of black with a silver line showing itself until he drew his hand back, "Also, take caution to be sure that your Mystic Code stays hidden from sight as well."

"Yeah I know Albert… Though I do not see _why_ because it's a stupid little choker. Not like anyone else is going to see it as out of the ordinary. Anyone who isn't a Magus will just think it's a choice in accessory, nothing more." Edge stated, twirling a strand of hair.

"Yes I know… I myself do not understand why your father would implore you to do so but…" Albert started, getting cut off by Edge.

"Nope. Not gonna hide it. Father is crazy for even asking me to do so." Edge muttered, running his hand down the side of his neck, a brief blink of blue, a black choker was exposed on his neck, a thin strip of silver going along the middle until the moved to the shining blue gem on the front.

"Are you sure?" Albert asked.

"Even if it was hidden a mage could still sense it's presence. What's the point in hiding something that can be sensed?" Edge murmured, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I believe it would be for practically if it was coming from me. True, a Magus could sense the power, but, without being able to see it, they could not identify where you keep your Mystic Code or what it is for that matter." Albert stated, "Oh, we've arrived in the suburban area, good."

"Practicality my foot!" Edge snapped, finally getting back into a seat. "So, my father driving me insane again aside, what kind of house is this gonna be now?"

"Ah yes. Well, as a departure from the usual mansion you've been raised in…"

XXXXXXX

"It's an old style Japanese home!" Edge yelped in both surprise and excitement as he bounded through the gate into the property, "Holy cow! This architecture totally looks like it's from the Edo period! Awesome!"

Albert sighed as the other servants who had come with them started moving things into the house and Edge shot further into the yard.

"Yes, young master, indeed it is. As you can see, the home itself has plenty of room and areas I'm sure you'll enjoy, but while outside it looks older, inside, your father has things arranged to suit modern needs and to assist in your training, though a majority of those commodities have been placed within the dojo." Albert stated, following after Edge at a simple trot that allowed him to stay steady in his steps.

"THAT'S WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!" Edge yelled again as he shot around the corner, "FOUND IT!"

"And the young masters' boundless energy remains. Hagh, such a large amount of energy in such a small body." Albert sighed.

 _ **That Night**_

Edge was staring at the ceiling of his new room-which was simply furnished with a desk at one wall, a futon in the center of it that he was laying on, and a closet off to the side-his legs up and one foot waving in the air as he traced a line of light from his fingers, his choker glowing slightly due to the mana use, and he put his hand behind his head as the small light trails he'd drawn faded, sitting up and getting dressed in his usual outfit, sliding his door open and glancing around the hall, snickering when he saw that nobody was around to stop him.

"Kehehehe. Time to go and explore the city at night!"

Edge slipped out and shut his door silently, lightly trotting along to make as little noised as possible as he headed for the main door, opening it just enough to slip through once he reached it, then taking off down the road through the suburbs, chuckling as he scanned around the place, aiming straight for the city lights off in the distance, moving at a steady trot with his hands in his coats pockets.

XXXX

Edge was now at the bridge that led into the inner city, and he was sitting on the rail to look out over the ocean better since, despite his decent height even for a ten year old, it was still tricky to see over the railing completely and get a good view.

"Wow! Man this is a view! Hahah! Way cooler than that lame forest back where the mansion in America is! Hahaha! I could get used to this city, that's for sure!" Edge swung his legs back and forth, a small smile on his face as he looked out at the night sky, and then, he flinched when he felt something jolt through the air, and he slipped off of the rail and back to the sidewalk. "That was a mana source?! But where from? It was close… but… no one is around… _hey!_ If you're hiding then show yourself!"

Simply the sound of the wind blowing came as a response to a ten year old, and he noted that there was a slight glow to the gem on his choker, and he covered it with his jackets collar. He then started scanning around for any signs, proceeding down the bridge, and then he gasped when he saw something in front of him.

"A tear?! Here?" Edge yelped, and the shape in the air before him was a small jagged cloud of sorts in the air that looked like a heat haze but caught in a tear like shape that remained motionless in the air, "That's where the mana is coming from… geez… if I wanna find out I'm gonna have to go through it then… hehe, thank you family magic!"

Edge chuckled and cracked his knuckles as he approached the tear, hopping onto the empty road and putting his hand out towards it, his hand stopping right on the tear like it was solid. The young mage then closed his eyes and focused, his palm glowing.

"Teilen Sie die Ketten zwischen Bereichen, gewähre mir Eingang durch das Rift auf den Weg hinaus, im Namen von Coltheart, öffnen den Weg zur nächsten der Welt!" As Edge recited the spell, the tear began to glow, and there was a sound like breaking glass in the air as Edge stepped into the tear, and when he came out on the other side, he blinked to see that the alternate space was nigh on exactly the same as normal… except the sky was filled to the brim with _thousands_ of magical orbs that moved around like they were targeting something.

"What in the name of he… ah come on! I have another white streak in my hair now! Dang it!" Edge was looking at a puddle on the street, and in his reflection he could see there was now an additional white streak running down the left side of his hair, and he grumbled as he crossed his arms.

And then the young magus was nearly covered in head to toe by laser like red lines.

"Uh oh…" Edge had a brief moment to speak before magic beams came raining down him from his left side, though one could see a flash of azure light amidst the barrage… "Geez, that broke through two layers. That must be some pretty gnarly magic."

When the dust cleared, Edge was still standing there, not even touched, his arm outstretched and before it, an azure wall of energy that bloomed like a flower in five layers that got smaller along each, and with a small movement of Edge's hand, the shield vanished and he looked up towards the source of the barrage, spotting a robed figure in the sky, and he raised a brow when he saw to other figures, young girls in outfits that he could only describe as _magical girls,_ flitting through the air towards the robed figure as magic bolts rained down on both of them.

Edge's eyes widened when one of them let loose their own attack, though the bolts merely stopped dead, the sky revealing none other than a bounded field.

"No way, that's _huge!_ Geez, what kind of magic is this anyway?" Edge muttered, and then he jumped back a bit when a flash of blue came streaking towards the bridge and slammed into it, a faint hint of a figure falling down to the platform below.

Edge dashed over to the edge and looked over, blinking.

" _That's one of those girls…"_ Edge though, the girl on the platform below him looking around his age, with short brown hair and reddish brown eyes, her outfit admittedly a little… strange, being some type of purple and black leotard with detached sleeves and a black skirt of sorts with black leggings and a white cape, and floating next to the girl was a blue magic stick with a gold star kept in a circle at the top, with blue and black side "ears" of a sort.

"Hey! Are you okay down there!" Edge called out, the girl looking up to him with surprise on her face as he jumped down, and Edge blinked when he saw that her leg was bleeding. "Geez, you got hit pretty hard back there?'

"What in the… who are you? How did you get into this place?" The girl asked.

"Interesting…" The floating stick murmured that in a knowledgeable tone, and Edge, who was used to magical items, didn't even bat an eye.

"I can explain that later. But, you're hurt right now. Heck, what's going on here anyway?" Edge murmured.

"There's no time to explain that currently. Lady Miyu can regenerate the wound, but for now we need to move!" The magic stick warned, and Edge looked up when more of the red lines came at them, "Hurry!"

"REPLICA: RHO AIAS!"

Edge shot up and thrust his arm out again, the blue shield forming again in front of him and the girl, stopping the blasts that came streaking towards them, though one of the layers of the barrier shattered.

"Dangit, that makes three." Edge muttered, lowering his arm as the barrage stopped, the four remaining barriers vanishing, and the girl blinked as she finished processing what happened.

"What… who _are_ you?" The girl asked.

"Like I said before, I'll explain later. Let me guess, that robed person is behind that bounded field, right?" Edge asked, rubbing his choker a bit.

"Yes… we're trying to get close. But you can't stay here, it's not safe for you!" The girl stated, and Edge chuckled.

"Quite the contrary actually. Hehehe, I've wanted to this one again!" Edge chuckled as he leveled his left arm to his shoulder, stretching his hand wide as his choker glowed, "Replica: Gae Dearg!"

Edge then drew forth a red spear bearing a silver blunt end and segments that were of the same silver, the full length of the weapon being two meters long, and despite the spear being nearly twice his height in length, Edge spun it around with practiced ease, stopping it with his right hand and sticking the silver point into the concrete, and then the other girl he'd seen earlier, a white haired, red eyed girl in a pink, more dress like outfit, floated down near them.

"Miyu, thank god you're okay! Wait… who's this?" The girl in pinked asked, and Edge sighed again.

"I'll explain later. For now, it looks like that mage up there needs to be taken out, right?" Edge chuckled, spinning Gae Dearg into a two handed grip.

"Yeah but… "The girl in pink murmured, and then Edge jumped, "WAGH HE JUMPED?!"

Though instead of falling into the water, Edge made a light step in the air, a brief wave of faint light coming from where he stepped as he ascended, the boy simply focusing mana to his feet to propel him and act as a foothold.

"Hey hold up will you?! Do you even know what you're getting into?!" The girl in pink yelled as the other girl watched while leaning on the rail.

"Nope! But, might as well help you guys out! Now just watch!" Edge yelled in reply, pushing up again and zipping up to above the magic circles, right where the robed figure was camping out, stopping in midair with small ripples under his feet, and he spun Gae Dearg again, taking a stance with the spear in a grip that managed to work with it's length, "Y'know, maybe I should be glad father put through such harsh training… hehehehe… I don't know who or what you are, but I can you're the bad guy… or, girl."

Edge only got silenence as a response. Silence that was seen marked by bolt sort magic being shot his way, which Edge simply dodged by shooting to the side, bolting around while coming ever closer to his target, and once he started closing the gap, the robed figure brought up the barrier she'd been using as Edge thrust his spear forward...

And to the surprise of all those watching, instead of being stopped dead, Gae Dearg passed straight through the barrier like it wasn't even there, the barrier shattering like glass as Edge finally closed the gap.

"Ehehehe! No you don't!" Edge chuckled, stepping forward with a burst of mana behind him, his spear aimed straight at his enemies heart, and his eyes widened when they teleported, appearing straight behind him, and when a blast of magic was let loose, Edge let himself drop down to dodge it, stepping again and coming back up from below, this time managing to drive his spear straight through the figures heart and out to the other end, Edge pulling the spear out and twirling it as he stepped back, and he covered his eyes when the figure vanished and then burst into a blossom of light.

When the light faded, there was a brief twinkle, and then Edge caught what came towards him, an odd card bearing the image of a mage on it saying "Caster" at the bottom of it.

"A card? What the heck? Did this come that figure?" Edge dismissed Gae Dearg, the spear vanishing into a small tear that formed in front of it's tip, and Edge started walking down like he was on steps as he overlooked the card, being met by the two girls in midair.

"Holy cow! You beat her so fast!" The girl in pink exclaimed.

"You're much stronger than you look." The girl in purple added.

"Ehehehehe… yeah there's a reason for that. Either way, do you two know what the heck this card is?" Edge asked, showing the card in his hands.

"That, my good young sir, is called a Class Card!"

Edge blinked when the magic stick the girl in pink was carrying floated out to him, acting energetic and lively as opposed to the blue on.

"Class what? Never heard of em…" Edge murmured, putting a hand on his hip.

"I can explain that later. For now, allow me to introduce myself. I am Magical Ruby, and this is my master, Illyasviel von Einzbern, though everyone just calls her Ilya." Ruby introduced herself, and Ilya chuckled with a small wave.

"Hi… nice to meet you." Ilya chuckled.

" _Einzbern? Is she the kid that Albert mentioned?"_ Edge thought back to earlier that day, but dismissed the thought for now.

"And I am Magical Sapphire, Ruby's younger sister. This is my master, Miyu Edelfelt." Sapphire floated up next, and Miyu simply gave a small nod of acknowledgement.

"I'm Edge Coltheart. Hehehe, nice to meet all of you!" Edge chuckled and put a hand behind his head, and then the three ten year olds looked down towards the river bank when they heard yelling. "Hmm? Who's the one with the twin tails and the gaudy blonde?"

"That's Rin and Luvia… they're… friends of ours." Ilya murmured.

"As well as mine and Sapphire's previous masters. We left them for a reason you're sure to learn about." Ruby stated, and Edge raised a brow.

"HELO-O-O! Are you three listening!? Who the heck is the new guy?!" Rin yelled from below, using her hands as a megaphone.

"Who _is_ that boy? He took down one of the Cards so easily and manifested a weapon powerful enough to shatter the barrier it was using…" Luvia murmured, and Edge gave a small wave.

"Edge Coltheart, at your service! And by the way, your welcome for the help I have ya'!" Edge laughed, showing the Caster Card, and that caused Rin and Luvia to yelp.

"Did he just say Coltheart?!" Lucia yelped.

"As in the Magus family that's renowned for creating powerful magic weapons and artifacts as well as the Replica Phantasms?!" Rin added, her ow shocked expression present.

" _ **THAT COLTHEART FAMILY?!"**_ The two magus girls yelled that in perfect synch, and Edge just sighed.

"Yes, _that_ Coltheart family…" Edge sighed and put a hand on his head, looking at the Class Card again, "Eh, whatever. Don't need this."

Edge tossed the card, and Ilya fumbled to catch it, the girl sighing once she had it steady, and Edge then made his way down to the ground, leaping and landing right in front of Rin and Luvia, putting his arms behind his head.

"So… what happens now eh?" Edge chuckled in a joking manner and then…

XXXX

" **OH COME ON ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"**

Edge was now tied up in both a chair and a restraining magic circle, where he was, he had no idea. All he remember was making a joke and then things went black, and when he woke up, he was sitting there with Rin and Luvia giving him glares, and Illya and Miyu being off to the side, one looking concerned because of what happened, and the other simply blank faced.

" _This day is just not workin' out for me, is it_?" Edge's mental tone was more annoyed then anything else, and he sighed, flinching with a twitching eye as yelling snapped him back to reality.

"Alright kid, spill it, what the _hell_ are you doing here and who are you _exactly?!"_ Rin and Luvia yelled and synch, and Edge sighed.

"Yeah… this day is just not a good one for me…"

 _ **To be continued**_

 **A/N**

 **FYI, I'm saving the Saber Alter battle for later… kinda shattered the plot of Kaleid enough as it is… and despite NEVER having written a character as young as this version of my Nasuverse OC, I'm having a lot of fun with it.**


	2. Chapter 2

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 2: Intertwining Paths**

"Yeah… this day is just not a good one for me…"

Edge hung his head and sighed, looking up from under his fringe and sighing again when he just got the same glares from Rin and Luvia, leaning his head back.

"Fine! Geez, I'm who you guessed I am back in that other space." Edge threw his head back and then looked straight at the two teenaged Magus girls, "Edge Coltheart, the current heir to the Coltheart family of mages."

"So I wasn't seeing things… that was the Key to Lorelei you were using…" Rin murmured.

"Huh? What's that?" Ilya hummed.

"It's my choker, which is a Mystic Code like those two magic sticks you two have. The Key to Lorelei, the source of my family's magic." Edge spoke up, and then he added to it, "Also, can you _please_ release me? I promise I won't pull anything funny."

"No! First off, how the heck can you even _use_ the Key to Lorelei? According to most sources, it's a very difficult magic and takes years to master!" Rin snapped, pointing a finger right in Edge's face.

"Yes. And you are little more than a child who barely looks older than Miyu and Ilya here. So, please explain how you are _also_ powerful enough to easily defeat one of the Class Cards." Luvia had her own two cents to put in, and Edge's look was more or less flat and unamused.

"Haaagh… simple answer to that: Lots and lots of training from hell curtesy of my father. Besides, that Class Card or whatever the heck it was wasn't terribly strong either in terms of physical skill from what I could tell, so of course I was able to steamroll over her. Really, against a spell caster my Gae Dearg is pretty much a giant middle finger since it can pass through any kind of mana source with it's tip. That includes bounded fields as well." Edge explained that simply, and so came the next question…

"Then what about _your_ bounded field?"

"Simple. A full replica of Rho Aias, though it's more or less a Conceptual Weapon compared to the original… granted I lost three layers and it's gonna take a bit of mana for me to restore it. Man it's annoying, but hey, that's where my magic comes in." Edge casually shrugged.

"Oh yes, I forgot to remove this thing as well!" Rin stepped forward and put a hand on the choker, yanking on it, and Edge started yelping as she tried to pry it off, "Why? Won't?! This?! Come?! OFF?!"

"OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW! AAAGGGHHH! THE DAMN THING IS WIRED STRAIGHT TO MY MAGIC CIRCUIIIII-AAAAGGGHHHHAAAAAA! STOP PULLING THAT HURTS MORE THAN IT SHOULD! GYOWOWOWOWOW!" Edge was practically _shrieking_ as he thrashed around while Rin continiually yanked on the choker, quite visibly _in pain_ until she let go, and his head fell back on the chair, Ilya quite visibly in shock while Miyu blinked, and Rin and Luvia looked confused as Edge hissed as he rightened out, "Owowowowowowowow…. Geez… did… ow… you have to yank so hard? You can't… ow… pull this… thing off… trust me I've tried…"

"Eh? Why the heck can't we huh?" Rin leaned in with a scowl on her face, and Edge shot her a flat, annoyed look.

"As I was _trying_ to say, this thing is wired _directly_ to my Magic Circuits. You can't take it off unless you know the proper spell, and it's one only my family knows… so please refrain from trying that again…" Edge growled a bit as he stretched his neck, "And seriously, you can untie me, I'm not gonna harm anyone."

"I uh… I think it's safe… I mean… he _did_ help us beat the Class Card…" Ilya spoke up when RIn and Luvia simply glowered at Edge, who simply returned the glares with a flat look that showed that he was still annoyed.

"And besides, he's a child. Not like he can cause too much damage." Miyu added.

"YOU'RE AS OLD AS I AM! DON'T CALL ME A CHILD WHEN YOU'RE ONE YOURSELF!" Edge yelled and started struggling against the ropes, "BUT SERIOUSLY LET ME GO THESE ROPES ARE CUTTING OFF BLOOD CIRCULATION!"

A moment later, and after a short argument, Edge was free from the chair, but still stuck in place due to the restraining circle, but at the very least he could comfortably move around.

"Alright, now, just how the heck is a _ten year old_ strong enough to take on a Class Card and easily defeat it?" Luvia pressed on, and Edge sighed.

"It's simply because I was born with a high quantity of extremely high quality magic circuits. The Coltheart family prides themselves on their power along with craftsmanship, and has only bred it's members to be some of the strongest magus in history. It's even been rumored our bloodline carries the blood of ancient heroes as well!" Edge stated, some yelps coming from the others as they had a similar thought, that being…

" _Is he even aware of what that is!?"_

At least, the ones who knew what selective breeding was asked that question.

"Y-you're kidding right? You're saying that your family _purposefully_ makes their members strong?" Ilya murmured in shock.

"He's not wrong actually…" Rin crossed her arms, and Luvia nodded.

"The Coltheart family is an ancient one, going as far back as before even the Dark Ages. This boy quite obviously bears the unique mana signature of that bloodline as well… but, even if such a thing is true, he'd have to have his vast power limited… there's no way such a small body could handle _that_ much power, the power to defeat a Class Card, so easily." Luvia explained, and Edge simply blinked.

"Well duh! Why do you think my body is covered head to toe in runes that vanish as I become capable of handling more power, usually when I mature? Why do you think I look like I could be entering middle school anyway? My body's growth was partially accelerated so that I could handle more power sooner. I'm ten years old but I have the body of a thirteen year old. That, and my Mystic Code, which you may know as the Key of Lorelei, also acts as another limiter to keep me from breaking my current power cap… if I go over it… well… there's… consequences to that." Edge sighed and tugged at his newest streak, which made Luvia and Rin go wide eyed.

"Cell damage! Using too much of his power causes damage to his body's cells!" Rin chirped.

"That would explain why he's so young but has white streaks in his hair!" Luvia added, and Ilya hummed in confusion.

"What they mean is, every time Coltheart uses an amount of power that's more than what he can handle, his choker damages his body in return…" Miyu started, and was interrupted by Sapphire when Ilya's head started steaming from thinking to hard as Miyu spoke.

"Basically, that choker of his is like a parasite. It saps power from his body in exchange for what he uses over, and it causes his cells to lose pigmentation. If that young man there uses too much power, he could very well become an albino." Sapphire explained it in simpler terms.

"If that happened then he'd look like a member of your family Ilya!" Ruby laughed, and Ilya chuckled in an unamused manner, and Edge's look darkened.

"Yeah… but there's also the possibility of a far… worse fate if I push myself and go too far over my limit… the Key of Lorelei is parasitic in nature… so… take a guess." Edge's tone softened, and Ilya shuddered.

"What's with all of this dark stuff coming up!?" Ilya put her hands on her head, and then she flinched when Edge laughed.

"But there's no real threat of it since the limiter runes on my body keep that from happening! The worst thing that happens to me is just getting another streak in my hair and sometimes a little shock!" Edge chuckled in a flippant way, garnering another simultaneous shocked reaction.

" _HE JUST CHANGED THE MOOD SO EASILY!"_

"Uh… um… Coltheart-san…" Ilua started to speak, but…

"Edge. Just call me Edge. I'm not big on the last name with honorifics thing." Edge interrupted and held up a finger.

"Uhm… Edge-san… why is it you're so casual about such a thing?" Ilya asked, Edge humming, putting a finger on his chin.

"Hmm… well, I simply prefer to keep a better outlook on things. Also, I'm not the kind of person to worry about "what- ifs" and look at the "did's" and "did not's". It's a good philosophy if you ask me." Edge explained, and Miyu spoke up next.

"But it's also illogical. If you don't think of what _could_ happen in a scenario then haw can you plan around things? Without thinking of a "what if" scenario planning becomes ineffective and cannot happen." Miyu stated, and Edge stood up with a chuckle.

"When I say not worrying about "what ifs" I mean in the way of how it deals with my magic and the Key of Lorelei. And within a fight I simply analyze my enemy and act accordingly. Having a vault full of magic weapons and items comes in handy quite frequently. Now, it's rather late, so…" Edge stood and stretched his arms, extending his arm, "I need to make my leave. I have school tomorrow and would hate to be out any later than I already have been. Though I have a feeling we shall see each other once more. Replica! Gae Dearg!"

Edge drew the red spear once more and spun it, stabbing the tip into the ground, the restraining circle bursting as the tip cut through it's mana flow, and in a flash, Edge stored the spear and extracted another item, quickly using it and causing a flash of white that blinded all the others in the room.

"Gotta say though, this all seems kinda interesting!"

Edge's voice stayed in the air for a bit, and once the effects of the flash died down and everyone could see again, they saw that Edge was gone, a mark in the ground from his spear and a note with a scrawled, chibi version of Edge sticking his tongue out on it making an L with his fingers.

"THAT LITTLE TWERP! HE SAID HE WASN'T GONNA PULL ANYTHING SNEAKY!" Rin and Luvia screamed in synch, while Ilya and Miyu were simply curious.

"Who _is_ he?" Ilya murmured that out, and Miyu nodded.

"He's definitely strange…" Miyu added.

"He could either be an ally or a threat… perhaps we should decide which one we want him to be ahead of time." Sapphire suggested, sighing as Rin and Luvia continued to yell.

XXXXXXX

It was now the late morning at Homurahara Elementary, and it was a quiet day in class 5-1 and at the time, Ilya was staring out the window of the room as the break was on, lost in thoughts about the previous night.

" _He just came out of nowhere and beat the Class Card so easily… what kind of person can hold such immense power, power that's dangerous for them, and yet be positive about all of it? He's strange, that's for sure…"_

And then cue their class' teacher, Taiga Fujimura, coming back in.

"Take your seats everyone!" Taiga took her spot at the teacher's podium, giving her basic old "Bam!" exclamation, "Good news! We're getting another new transfer student today! You can come in now!'

"Yes ma'am!"

And lo and behold, Edge, now clad in the schools uniform, though he _did_ have his usual jacket over the blazer, bounded in, his bag over his shoulder as he turned on his heel and faced the class.

"I'm Edge Coltheart! Nice to meet all of you!" Edge grinned and threw a hand up as he shut an eye, the class aweing at how the _obviously_ foreign boy was speaking perfectly pronounced _and_ fluent Japanese, not an accent to be heard from him.

And cue a subdued gasp from Ilya, while Miyu more or less just blinked as Edge lowered his arm and pocketed his hand.

"Okay hush now everyone. Edge-kun transferred here from America. I'm sure he'll have questions, so please help him out." Taiga was met by a small chuckle from Edge.

"Oh don't worry _sensei,_ you have nothing to worry about with me! But yes, I would appreciate help for anything I don't know yet. I'm glad to be part of this class." Edge gave a small bow, the class responding in kind.

"My you are a nice boy! Now, as for your desk…" Taiga looked around, "Ah! The one beside Miyu-chan will do!"

"Of course." Edge nodded, glancing over at Ilya and Miyu, the two magical girls giving him varied looks as he trotted over to the desk and sat down, glancing at the two girls briefly.

"Alright now… onto the…" Taiga opened up her teacher's book… only to see she was missing the necessary handouts. _Again._ "Well… my well-behaved students, do some more self studying while I'm gone, okay?"

Taiga shuffled out of the class and shot down the hall as she threw the door open, and Edge himself stifled a laugh as he slipped his jacket off and onto the back of his chair.

"Well, I feel like I'm going to have a fun time at this place." Edge leaned on a hand, and then he put none up as his classmates began to gather around him asking questions. "Ahehehe… yeah… things are definitely going to be enjoyable."

And a few moments later, Miyu leaned over and tapped Edge on the shoulder.

"Can we talk? In private." Miyu spoke quietly, and Edge sighed, knowing what it had to be about.

"Yeah sure. This is about the other night, isn't it?" Edge responded in just as quiet a tone, and when the student around him all tilted their heads, Edge cleared his throat, "I've uh… gotta go use the bathroom real fast!"

Edge more or less shot out of his seat, stopping when he was barely five feet away from the closed doors, and he leaned on the wall as he waited, and a moment later, Miyu came out, Ilya following as well.

"So, what do ya' need to ask me?" Edge hummed and put his arms behind his head.

"How did you get into the Mirror World the other night?" Miyu replied bluntly, and Ilya just sort of stoodby.

"So _that's_ what that other dimension is called! Well, simple. There was a Tear I reality on that bridge, and I simply accessed it." Edge stated.

"Tear?" Ilya tilted her head.

"A Tear is a break within the fabric of reality… they appear all over the place, but only a select few people can see them, much less access them. It's how we access the Mirror World to battle the Class Cards with the Kaleidosticks." Miyu explained.

"Think of it as a portal. Though they're actually _very_ hard to see. But, my family's magic centers on the concept of opening, closing, and accessing Tears. In fact, all of my weapons and magical items are stored in an alternate space altogether." Edge attempted to simplify it, and Ilya nodded.

"Okay… but, why were you even out there last night? It's just… odd." Ilya stated, and Edge hummed.

"Well, I was just out on a walk. I was exploring the city and when I reached the bridge it was about midnight, and then I found a Tear that let me into this 'Mirror World' or whatever you call it. Simple as that." Edge replied, holding up a finger, "Now, my turn to ask some questions: Just what the heck _are_ those Class Card things?"

Sapphire came out in her simpler form, and she answered, "The Class Cards are magical items that appeared here in Fuyuki City. Each one of them holds the power of a Heroic Spirit, and it's our job to gather all seven of them. Currently, we have the Archer, Lancer, Rider, and, with your help, the Caster cards."

"That four of seven… and if we're talking about Heroic Spirits then that would leave… Assassin, Saber, and Berserker…" Edge murmured, holding up three fingers, "So, that woman I fought last night was a Caster Class Heroic Spirit? Huh, no wonder I beat her so easily. Caster is the weakest of the seven Servant Classes…"

"Eh?" Ilya hummed in confusion.

"The boy is talking about an event called the Holy Grail War. It's where seven Heroic Spirits, similar to the ones we fight, are summoned by Seven Masters. It's a brutal thing so… well, perhaps it's better _not_ to speak about it." Ruby came out next and relayed the info.

"But, how do you know so much about the Holy Grail War anyway?" Miyu pressed further, and Edge just kept the same expression on.

"Simple: My dad taught me about it. I have an ancestor who participated in one… and besides, how could I _not_ know what a Heroic Spirit is? My Replica Phantasms are exactly that, replicas of the Noble Phantasms they use. My family dedicated their skills to trying to reforge these powerful weapons over many millennia, but my ancestors only ever succeeded in making replicas that, while they _could_ mimic the powers and abilities each one had, were less powerful. Though my family _did_ craft some of their own Noble Phantasms over the generations as well. The fact I drew one of them out a few years back is the reason I already have the Key of Lorelei." Edge put two fingers on the choker, rubbing it's metal line.

"Oh ho… so, what now? You happen to mysteriously transfer into Ilya and Miyu's class… does this mean you're going to become some sort of ally? Because we don't need the help." Ruby stated, and then Sapphire interjected.

"Actually, I believe some more help in gathering the cards would be helpful. Edge-sama is capable of battling the cards by his own power. He could be a great ally." Sapphire stated.

"Uh… yeah… but like I said, Caster is the weakest of the Servant classes when it comes to physical skills. I could fare pretty well against Assassin too, since Assassin classes aren't normally meant for direct combat… but against Saber and Berserker? It… would depend. Like I said before, I can't push my body too far in a fight. My total mana output is 2000 units per Magic Circuit, which I have 40 of. The issue here is, due to my younger age, I can't exactly control it well. I'd be helpful yeah… but it's not like I can just steamroll the latter two like I did Caster." Edge explained.

"Well… I think it would be fine if you fought with us. I mean, you did pretty well against Caster last night. And you saved Miyu as well. I'd be glad if you decided to help us." Ilya stated, giving a kind smile to try and lighten the mood a bit.

"But he's an outsider… the only reason he found out about this was chance… in fact, he has no reason to help us." Miyu replied.

"Oh, he's helping us all right!"

The three ten year olds turned, and a moment later, they saw _Rin_ present and she, within nary a moment, had Edge in a grapple hold by the boys hair.

"YOWOWOWOW! You?! What the heck are you doing here twin tails?!" Edge growled as he struggled to get free, and Rin chuckled.

"Oh please. You're seven years younger than I am, don't even try struggling free! You were the one who decided to join in on the fight with the Class Card last night, so like it or not, you're helping us collect the remaining three." Rin growled in response, "If not, then how about I yank on that little choker of yours?"

"You wouldn't dare…" Edge growled.

"Try me." Rin responded.

"So looks like he's not being given a choice in the matter either way huh?" Ilya sighed and put a hand on her head.

"Hmm… getting dragged into the situation… another cliché has appeared today." Ruby snickered.

"Another one you see in Magical Girl settings a lot as well." Sapphire added.

"REALLY?! You're kidding right?" Edge snapped, managing to get free, falling onto his rear.

"No, I'm not. Besides, _you're_ the one who said you wouldn't pull anything fast and then suddenly high tailed it out of there the other night!" Rin replied, and Edge sighed.

" _That_ was because it was so early and I had to get back home! The servants at my house would have _flipped_ if they found me missing. And trust me, you _do not_ want the family butler coming after you. The man may be as stiff as a board but he _is_ my father's old combat trainer and mine as well." Edge bit in a harsh reply.

"Doesn't matter! You're making up for that by helping us out!" Rin pointed at Edge, and the boy growled.

"TODAY JUST ISN'T MY DAY!"

XXXXX

"Why the heck am I being dragged into all of this? I have nothing to do with these Class Card things… hagh… just my rotten luck." Edge was taking a walking path back to his home, and he was currently venting his thoughts at the moment as well since he felt the need to, though it _did_ entail speaking aloud and cursing a bit more than he usually tended to. "Haaagh… yeah, just my rotten luck to end up getting dragged into something insane… gagh… not even two days since I've gotten here and already it's hit the fan…" Edge stopped at a crosswalk and leaned on the nearby fence, sighing and reaching behind him, fiddling around in a small Tear he formed, and then he hummed when he heard his name be called… again. "Those two… are just gonna keep following me?"

Edge closed the Tear and turned around, spotting Ilya and Miyu trotting after him, and he put a hand on his waist.

"Hold up! Man, you just seemed to vanish!" Ilya was panting, and Edge had a skeptical look on his face.

"Okay why are you two following me? Look, I answered the questions I needed to. Just because twin tails decided I'd be part of your little entourage doesn't we have to be friendly. In fact I'd rather not be involved in this." Edge stated coldly, and Ilya hung her head.

"And at first you were so nice…" Ilya murmured.

"I for one am still against you helping us. You have no business being involved." Miyu murmured.

"Well _no duh._ But… I have my pride as a magus… and since I know so much now, I can't just go and back out no matter how much I hate it. No, if I back out then my family's honor would be on the line! Even if I had no business in this before, now that the honor of the Colthearts is on the line if I back down, then where would that leave me as the current heir!" Edge started raising his voice, trying to act cool, but…

"That's coming off as really childish…" Ilya and Miyu murmured, and in the next split second, Edge was on the ground with his head in his hands, utter despair clouding.

"SHUT UP! I'm trying! I can't help that I'm a little kid! I just wanted to try and sound cool alright?! Can't I at least do that much?! Why does everyone I know have to shatter the little bit of ego I manage to get?" Edge was outright _sobbing_ now, and Ilya yelped.

"GWAGH!? I'm sorry I'm sorry! I didn't know that you'd take it that way! Please forgive me!" Ilya started apologizing, and Miyu just hummed.

"But it was… him acting that way just made it sound childish instead of whatever he was aiming for." Miyu stated.

Cue Edge's sobs of a ten year old's low self-esteem intensifying and llya freaking out again.

"YOU'RE NOT HELPING MIYU-SAN!" Ilya yelped.

"It's not my fault I have such low self-esteem… having been raised by my dad left no room for mistakes… I didn't even have a mom to help me out… I try so hard to be mature but every time I do people always say I'm being childish!" Edge wailed and held his head in his hands a bit lower.

"AAAAAAGHHH! What do we dooo?!" Ilya shrieked as she looked around, "Uh uhm… uhh… I don't know what to do!"

"Ay yi yi…" Ruby flitted out and sighed, while Miyu and Sapphire just blinked.

"GRAAAAGH! SCREW THIISSS!" Edge shot up and, with an angry yell, reached into a Tear… which resulted in him yanking out a broadsword _much_ too large for him, and he fell to the ground as he _spasmed_ like he was just shocked as a bolt shot off of the Key of Lorelei, the sword vanishing as Edge fell to the ground, and one could notice another white streak in his hair.

"WAGH?! What happened?!" Ilya yelped.

"I think he overloaded." Miyu stated.

"It seems whatever Replica he drew out was too powerful for him… his Mystic Code punished him in accordance. That, or in his anger his mana just went out of control." Sapphire mused, and Edge was rising onto his hands and knees, and then he leaned on the fence.

"Today just isn't my day…" Edge muttered, putting a hand on his head.

XXXXX

And a short time later, followed by a scream as Ilya led Edge into her home, the black and white haired boy was slumped against the wall while holding his head.

"Owowowowowooww….." Edge whimpered as he held the bulge on his forehead, and Ilya yelped.

"SELLA! Why did you do that?!" Ilya yelped, looking to the white haired young woman that was one of the two Einzbern maids (not that one could tell really)… and the only one that actually did any work around the house… most of the time, if Ilya's older brother wasn't doing so.

"A-a-a boy?! Ilya-sama why is a boy with you?!" Sella yelped, reeling back a bit.

"He's a transfer student from school. He uh… he hurt his head on the way home and I brought him here so he could get patched up." Ilya blurted out, Edge standing up with a bit of a wobble.

"I… guess you can say that's true… ow…" Edge muttered, rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"EH?! He's in your grade? He looks like he's in middle school." Sella gasped.

"I'm only ten miss… I just look older is all…" Edge chuckled, wincing again, _"Tch… I'm still sore from getting zapped earlier…"_

A short while later, and Edge was seated at the table with a damp cloth on his head over the sore spot, and the other maid, Leysritt, or just Lis as Ilya called her, was sitting on the couch. She more or less didn't care about Edge's presence whereas Sella kept shooting glances to the boy as he sipped on his tea.

"So not only do I get zapped I also get walloped over the head… yeah, today isn't my day." Edge murmured, rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"I apologize Mr. Coltheart. It's just, when I saw Miss Ilya bring a boy home I… panicked." Sella apologized again, and Edge just hand waved it, sipping his tea and looking towards Ilya, who was sitting across from him, taking a breath.

"Haaa… it's fine… I can get why… granted we're only elementary schoolers so there's no need to panic _that_ badly…" Edge muttered, pulling the cloth off of his head and tugging the newest white streak, "If this keeps my hairs gonna be completely white by the end of the week…"

"Uhm… so… Edge-san…" Ilya murmured.

"You can stop with the honorific…" Edge sighed, placing the cloth back on his head.

"O-okay… uhm… can I ask _why_ you're here, in this city?" Ilya whispered, and Ruby could be seen _just_ peering out from somewhere.

"My dad wanted my training to be uh…" Edge then shifted to a whisper, "Someplace where the prana was stronger in the air… since Fuyuki is right on a bunch of Leylines, he saw it as the best spot… that also, for some reason, included transferring schools as well. I don't know it all because my dad is… rather aloof… and my mom… well, she's not around anymore."

Ilya blinked as Edge started running a finger along the edge of the teacup (the girl also felt a pang of annoyance at the fact the sight was in and of itself a TERRIBLE pun on Edge's name), his eyes bearing a somewhat sad light in them.

"Oh… uhm…" Ilya was stopped by Edge holding up a hand.

"Don't say you're sorry, please don't…" Edge interrupted, "It was years ago, and besides, I never even knew my mom. But, still, this whole situation is just nuts… I still don't get those cards too, they're odd…"

"Ehehehe… well, I wouldn't know as much as you do about magic… I'm just going along with this until everything's wrapped up really." Ilya admitted.

"Makes sense… as for me, well, I just want to get out of my father's shadow is all… yeah I'm ten, but for a magus, that's when we start training in earnest, and I started out faster than most… still, I admit I don't like my family's magic all that much, I always felt there was something… _wrong_ about it… the power to pierce dimensions so easily had to come at a price… even if we simply use it to reach into the Lorelei Vault…" Edge folded his hands and sighed, Ilya blinking.

"Ilya, he's talking about the pocket dimension that his family created… the Lorelei Vault, where thousands upon thousands of Replica Phantasms are stored… I can also bet it holds numerous magical items of all sorts as well… and he's right, power like that _would_ have to come with a price… but nobody knows what that is…" Ruby whispered, Ilya blinking, taking a closer look at Edge in _detail,_ not just the surface image…

She then began to see what lay there… Edge's body showed the strain of having had his growth accelerated, and light, barely noticeable marks almost like scars became apparent up to the middle of his cheeks and continuing down, likely the seals he said were on his body, and peeking from under his coats right sleeve was a bandage wrapping ending just above his wrist, noticeable when the sleeve shifted… his face was completely neutral as well, if anything, his eyes showed a dark light, and concern for whatever reason, but also a hint of something else…

" _Just what kind of person_ is _he deep down? And… why do I feel this weird energy coming off of him? It's like whatever kind of feeling he gives off is tainted by something… something holding it back…"_ Ilya thought, continuing this in depth scan for a moment longer.

"Uh… Ilya? Is there a reason you're staring at me so intensely?"

Edge's words ripped Ilya back to reality, and the girl blushed as he cocked his head at her, and then Ilya shook her head.

"N-no reason! Hehehe… so uhm… are you feeling better?" Ilya asked, Edge nodding.

"Much better. Thank you for the tea Ms. Sella. I won't bother any of you any longer. See you tomorrow Ilya." Edge took off the drying cloth and set it near the empty cup, bowing his head before trotting out, Ilya following him with her eyes until he vanished.

"Well isn't he a polite boy? What was his name again Ilya?" Sella asked.

"Edge… Edge Coltheart." Ilya stated, Sella stopping for _just_ a moment as the last name was uttered.

"Oh, I see! Huh, I think I heard that name somewhere in the news before… it seems you're new friend is the son of a well-known business man." Sella hummed, though that statement seemed oddly forced…

"We-we're not friends! I just wanted to help him out…" Ilya yelped, her face like a beet, _"Still… I don't think I'd mind being friends with him… he's nice enough but… it feels like he has some kind of barrier separating him from everyone… why?"_

 **A/N**

 **Good question Ilya, good question… I altered this chapters ending for the sake of character reasons… that, and I feel this is a much better lead on to later things, as I have planned MUCH for Edge in coming chapters, mainly involving his magic and a certain aspect of it… as well as another bit about him and another type of magic… all will be revealed eventually.**


	3. Chapter 3

Fate Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 3: Chained Heart**

 _ **Coltheart Compound Dojo**_

The sounds of prana bursts and weapon clashes rang out from the dojo in succession, Edge training with sword in hand against Albert, the butler wielding a pair of daggers that glowed with prana against the blade Edge wielded.

"Hehe, what do you think now Albert? I've gotten pretty good for a ten year old." Edge chuckled, spinning his sword and taking his usual stance, having the hilt level to his shoulder while keeping a sturdy side stance that minimized his frontal hit box.

"Yes, your skill with a blade is impressive for your young age, though you still have a long way to go young master!" Abert spun a dagger and shot forward with a burst of speed, Edge countering the knife and ducking the second one, rolling out of the way and depositing his sword into a Tear before opening a new one.

"Replica! Caladbolg!" Edge drew out the blade, a slim sword with a spiraling blade that lacked a proper edge, the spirals of the blade layered as they moved down from the point, even seeming to form the hilt after the simple guard that separated the blade and grip, and the weapon shined with a rainbow light as Edge shot forward and swung it, the space around it looking like it distorted as Albert shot out of the way of the blow, Edge halting to a stop and blocking the next strike swiftly, and Albert jumped back when a spark bolted off the boy's choker.

"Young Master, we should stop now… if we continue at this pace you…" Albert was cut off when Edge thrust his blade past his head, and the young man looked downright annoyed now.

"No! If I want to improve, then I _have_ to push myself!" Edge growled, an eye closed as another bolt shot forth, though this time, Albert noted it came from a spot on the small of his back.

" _That's odd…"_ Albert observed Edge's movements as they kept the exchange up after Edge swapped to Replica Gae Dearg, Edge's movements with the weapon starting to show strain as he was continually bolted, and once he reached a point where he ended up collapsing, his spear vanishing, Albert spun his daggers and sheathed them in the scabbards under his jacket.

"Young master, allow me to look at your seals for a moment please…" Albert kneeled down, Edge nodding as he panted, removing his jacket and then the black shirt beneath, his pale, smooth torso shivering as the cool air of the dojo hit his skin, and Albert placed a hand on the boys slender back, a glow coming from his hands, and then, lighting up from the prana flow were the criss crossing seals that helped regulate Edge's power, about thirteen gaps, which showed Edge's physical age, present in them, though some showed visible damage here or there… except for one, which was not only of a different pattern than the rest, which were all a light blue, the color of Edge's prana, this one was a dark, near black red that shifted and flowed about in place, centered on the small of his back, and even odder, was the fact from that point and spreading, the boys skin was snowy white.

" _So it's not just his hair that is losing pigmentation, but his skin as well… and as for this rune… I don't remember this one being present before now…"_ Albert drew a finger down to the rune, and he blinked when Edge hissed in pain as the prana flow hit it.

"OW! What the hell did you just do?!" Edge yelped, resisting the urge to jump away.

"I apologize… just give me a moment…" Albert murmured, placing his palm on the rune, Edge sucking in a breath, his left eye twitching as pain jolted up his back and straight to his head.

"Owowowow…." Edge winced.

" _That is certainly odd… if I follow this rune's prana trail, it connects to the choker bearing the Key of Lorelei… but why? And further more… it feels like this rune is plugging up the flow of the young masters prana, restricting it instead of regulating the flow to make it safer…"_ Albert continued the observation, his fingers tracing along the damaged runes as well, _"And these damaged runes here… I feel that this is the result of the young master gaining more control over his magic power and growing stronger through it… but, he believes he's restricted from becoming stronger though… did Master Argus alter one of the runes into this darker one? And if so… why?"_

"Anything Albert? You're being awfully quiet right now…" Edge muttered.

"Master Edge, could you please focus your prana into as strong of a burst as you can? I want to test your current strength level and need to gauge it first." Albert stated, Edge standing up and going to the middle of the room, his runes lighting as he began to focus his prana, and as he was about to let the burst loose, a sound like shattering glass was heard, and Edge's face suddenly contorted in pain as blood burst from his side, right where a rune had shattered, the boy screeching as he grabbed the bleeding spot before hitting the ground.

"GAAAGH! OWOWOWOWO! WHAT THE HECK?!" Edge yelled, Albert rushing over to the boy as he held his side in agony, the butler already getting to healing the injury as Edge writhed on the floor, green light at the man's gloved hands, and a short time later, all that was left was the crimson stain on Edge's side. "Owowowowowowow…."

"One of your seals just shattered Master Edge…" Albert stated, helping Edge sit up, the two usual maids poking their heads in.

" _WHY?!_ I thought they only vanished as I got older and was able to handle more power!" Edge muttered, still holding his aching side.

"Well, your current seals, at least some of them, are showing damage to them, the reason, I do not know. I suggest you take it easy for now young master, and be careful to not strain yourself or you may risk breaking more… but, there _would_ be the benefit to them breaking…" Albert hummed, and the thought immediately processed through Edge's mind.

"I'd get stronger from the restriction breaking… but then there's the question of if it would be worth the pain… just one breaking hurt like I got stabbed by a sword fresh out of the forge…" Edge murmured, rubbing the gauze wrapping on his forearm. "Uh… hey, Albert, could you uh… leave me alone for a bit? I need to do something while I'm in here."

"Of course Young Master. The maids and I will go prepare supper as well." Albert bowed and left, shooing the maids away, and Edge slipped his shirt back on as the door was shut, then taking off the wrappings on his arms, slowly revealing that his forearm was _riddled_ with thin scars, some even overlapping one another.

"Come forth… Bloody Rose…" Edge bit down on his thumb, feeling the brief pang of his skin breaking and blood spilling into his mouth, then running down his hand and his forearm before he then drew a circle with a singular rune in it, the flow ceasing and the nick healing afterwards, leaving his arm stained red, Edge then placing his hand on the circle, reaching in and then extracting an item from it as it glowed.

The item in question was an irregular longsword of sorts unlike any other, bearing a blade that had a singular sharp edge, split between black and red along the blade, the edge being black while the blunt end was red, the tip curving up ever so slightly, and the sword also had no actual guard, instead, a split, red protrusion that came out from the black, red lined hilt seemingly wrapping around the upper part of it, and two notable, gleaming red bands at the end of the hilt and leading to a short pommel that split off and came to two points that looked just as sharp as the blade itself.

Bloody Rose… the sword forged by Edge himself from both his family's enchanted smithing, and unknown to anyone else in his family, blood magic.

When Edge stood, the sword at full length was a few inches shorter than he was, obviously made to be a proper longsword once he was fully grown, and he grabbed the hilt of the blade, spinning it around before taking his usual stance, feeling the balance weight of the sturdy sword in his hand before he brought it to his side, and he then brought out a small, razor sharp dagger from a Tear, placing the blade against his forearm and quickly swiping it across, a sensation of pain he was used to by now shooting up the limb as he stored the dagger, and the fresh wound then seeped down his arm, the blood falling to Bloody Rose's handle, and it was like the blade began to _consume_ the blood itself as Edge closed his eyes while kneeling.

" _This is how I strengthen Bloody Rose… feeding it my blood as I grow stronger makes this sword grow stronger as well, and helps with it's nature as a conduit… a conduit for which I can wield the blood magic I've been teaching myself ever since I stumbled across that tome back in the estate…"_ Edge opened an eye as the blade in his hand began to glow, thinking back to when he found that book that opened for him when a papercut he'd had bled onto it, thus setting off the venture of studying the magic in it as a way to broaden his field of play with magic itself.

And once his bleeding stopped, Edge wrapped his arm again, lifting his sword and then swiping it towards one of the practice dummies, shooting forward, roaring as he slashed, red light bursting from his sword as he cut the dummy in two, and with another swipe aimed at the two pieces, a wire thin flash of red light shot forth across the two pieces, a high keen in the air as they were then cut apart once more, and Edge swiped the sword into a reverse hold as the pieces fell, red marring the area where they'd been cut open.

"The magic I can use without having to worry about having things go nuts because of these damn seals and that limiter the Key of Lorelei has on it… _my_ magic, not my family's magic." Edge looked over the sinister sword in his hand again as it's glow died down, spinning it again before dismissing the blade, then rubbing his right arm as the soreness began to set in from the most recent cut. "It's cold…"

 _ **The Next Day/Homurahara Elementary Class 2-1**_

Edge was, for lack of other wording, bored out of his mind in the middle of the class, more preoccupied drawing in a sketchbook than doing the actual work, which he'd finished and set aside within minutes after getting it, and from her spot, Ilya couldn't help but peer back at him.

" _If he's not answering the questions in rapid fire, then he's occupied with that sketchbook of his… what is he even drawing in there?"_ Ilya fiddled with her pen a bit, doing her best to crane her neck _just_ enough to see and not get caught by appearing to just be stretching, managing to catch a glimpse of what the boy was drawing…

Penguins… he was drawing penguins.

Realistic, cartoonish, adults, babies… all _penguins._

" _Why penguins? I mean, they're all cute drawings but… penguins? He really is odd… I just can't get a good peg on him…"_ Ilya sighed, and she caught how Edge pulled his sleeve over the gauze wrapping on his right forearm, rubbing the upper limb a bit while flexing his fingers… and then his lips moved…

"It's cold…" Edge murmured, ever so quietly but audible to anyone who would have been listening, and he even pulled his coat a little closer on him.

" _And the oddity just increases more… but… I do wonder why he'd say that…"_ Ilya turned back forward, but, still lingering on this topic, while behind her, Miyu was just outright ignoring Edge's presence next to her… or at least trying to…

 _ **After School**_

Edge was following his normal path back home, though for the last while, he'd noticed Ilya tailing him along the way, rather terribly at that, and once he reached the bridge, he sighed.

"Einzbern, I know you're been tailing me since I left school. You can stop hiding." Edge turned around, readjusting his bag over his shoulder, and one could hear the sound of Ilya yelping as she tumbled out of her hiding spot, Ruby floating near the girl.

"When did you notice?" Ilya murmured, Edge looking over his fingers.

"After the first crosswalk… any particular reason you're stalking me right now?" Edge inquired, rubbing his right forearm again after setting his bag down.

"Well… I was hoping to find a time to talk to you but… well, I don't know, I just couldn't get up the courage I guess." Ilya murmured, and Edge sighed.

"What? Is this because I've been dragged into your little game of playing Card Captor with Heroic Spirits or something?" Edge sighed, and Ilya shot up at the reference he made, even if it was in ill favor, though she quickly readjusted back to the main topic.

"Well… yes, actually." Ilya cleared her throat, "I thought that we could be friends you know? If we're going to be working together now, then I think it would be cool if we could get along."

"Yeah well I don't have a reason to want to be friends with you. It was just a coincidence I was at the bridge that night to help you guys beat that Caster class Spirit. I know that twin tailed chick says I don't have a choice, but I don't really care. I'm not here to play fetch for two girls from the Mage Association and with two magical girls… I'd just like to be able to carry on with the life I have now and let that be it. No life or death battles, none of that insanity." Edge bit, his voice cool in tone and a cold air coming off of him.

"My my, isn't he as cold as Antartica when in a bad mood?" Ruby quipped.

"And he was so nice before…" Ilya murmured, Edge sighing again.

"Look, I just want a normal life… well, as normal as someone like me can get. Hell, why are _you_ involved in this mess anyway?" Edge asked.

"Oh well, ehehehe… I guess you could say it was a bit of an accident. Ahehehe…" Ilya chuckled, and Edge sighed.

"What am I, the token male protagonist of a magical girl anime or something?" Edge grumbled, shoving a hand into a pocket.

"I wouldn't say you're the protagonist really, I'd say you're more along the lines of the questionable love interest/foil type of character!" Ruby stated, and she got reactions from _both_ present ten year olds.

"SAY FRICKIN' WHAT?!" Edge snapped, a snarl on his face.

"RUBY WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!" Ilya yelped, her face terribly red.

"Well now I can guess where their separate priorities lie based on their reactions…" Ruby hummed, noting that Edge's reaction came from the mention of being a foil compared to Ilya _definitely_ reacting to "love interest".

"Ggh… that's not the point here… the point is, as soon as this business with those cards is done, we don't have any reason to associate with each other. The fact we're in the same class is also a coincidence… everything that's happened so far has been nothing but pure, dumb, stupid ass chance!" Edge declared, and then Ruby chuckled as she floated over to him and began swerving around the boy.

"Or maybe it was fate! Destiny drawing you here to follow the weave of the canvas of fate and…"

"SHOVE OFF YOU DAMN STICK!"

Ruby flinched when Edge snarled like that, interrupting her dead short.

"Can't we just all be friends!?" Ilya shouted, shaking her head to get forming thoughts out that she did not want to be there.

"And what reason is there anyway? Name _one thing_ you know about me other than me just being a magus!" Edge stated, and he was aiming a finger at Ruby like his hand was a gun… any savvy mage would have recognized the position as Edge getting prepared to potentially fire a Gandr bolt.

"I know you like penguins." Ilya blurted, and Edge froze.

"Eh?" Edge turned to the girl, though his body was frozen in place.

"I saw you drawing them in class today. All kinds. I, kind of thought they were cute… so, that's one thing." Ilya stated, and Edge blinked.

"Ohh, I think he's been stunned silent Ilya!" Ruby mused, and then the two yelped when a black bolt of mana shot between them, the dark energy drifting off of Edge's fingers, the boy's face _horribly_ flushed.

"Why did you do that?! Are you trying to hurt me!?" Ilya yelped, dodging more Gandr shots as Edge kept firing them at her.

"This will only knock you out for a little bit! SIT STILL SO I CAN HIT YOU!" Edge yelled, "You didn't see anything, I wasn't drawing anything of importance! And I so what if I like penguins eh?! There's nothing wrong with that! Don't judge me!"

"WAAAGH! I didn't even say anything like that! Calm down!" Ilya yelped, ducking and covering her head, and then as the storm of bolts kept up as the air whipped around from the mana release as Edge's emotions ran wild, it suddenly ceased within a single moment…

"GAAAAAAGGHHH! NOT AGAIN!"

Ilya peered out to see Edge on the ground, clenching his side in sheer and complete pain, and Ilya yelped to see blood starting to form from his side.

"Oh my god! What happened!" Ilya yelped, fixated on the blood in shock.

"Hmm, it seems one of the seals on his body broke… most interesting…" Ruby hummed, floating over Edge, "Why yes, that _is_ what happened! Looking closer, it looks like many of the seals on his body are damaged, and one of them just now broke! His mana going out of control must have caused the seal to break before his Mystic Code's failsafe kicked in. Ohhh… it also looks rather painful…"

"Owowowowoowow…." Edge hissed and then took in a breath, a green light forming in his hands while he clenched his side, murmuring the chant for a healing spell under his breath, and once it was done, his arms fell to his sides, and the boy shakily managed to sit up, but still had to hold his side anyway, "Owowowow… damn it…"

"A-are you okay?" Ilya asked, Edge nodding even if he winced.

"Yeah… pffffff…. FUCK!" Edge blurted out the worst of curse words so suddenly Ilya was taken aback, "Haagh… the stick is right… I found out the other day some of the seals that help control my mana are damaged, and if my mana goes buts or I push myself to far they may break before the Key of Lorelei can stop it… it's why I try to stay calm... I'm just going to go home… this hurts…"

As Edge stood, Ilya grabbed his sleeve to stop him from going.

"No. Even if you healed it you shouldn't walk the rest of the way home by yourself while you're like this. I really do want to try and be your friend you know? Even if you don't think there's a reason to be… can you at least give it a chance maybe?" Ilya asked, and Edge pulled himself out of her grip.

"Like I said Einzbern, the moment we're done with this Class Card business, we don't have a reason to be talking… besides, it's better if you just stay away from me… nothing good is going to come out of being around me… I'm just a walking case of misfortune… you'll just get tangled up in my chains if you try and hang around me."

Edge started to walk off at a slow, heavy pace while he held his side, and Ilya stood in silence as he continued along the bride, though she blinked when he stopped and looked back at her… and in that moment, it was almost like she could see his eyes giving a silent cry for help… but even then he kept walking forward.

"That boy has a heart chained up by years of the life of a young magus given too much to carry… Edge was given a heavy burden with that Mystic Code and because of the power he holds. Ilya, if you _really_ want to be his friend, don't expect it to happen quickly, alright?" Ruby stated, Ilya nodding, glancing at some of the blood that had gotten on her hand, the red marring her pale skin, and it was like a hint of Edge's power was in the drops.

"Yeah… alright then! I'll have to try my hardest if I want to be friends with him then! I bet it can be done! Even if he is cold at times, he's still nice, and I bet I can find a way to get him to open up too!" Ilya clenched her hand closed, and Ruby chuckled as a light ignited in the girl's eyes.

"So, is Edge going to remain the foil, or become the love interest? Let's see shall we!" Ruby chuckled deviously, and Ilya yelped.

"Ruby I can hear you!"

 **A/N**

 **And we keep moving forward with this… now to start hacking away at those icy chains on Edge… ohohoho this is gonna be fun as things go.**


	4. Chapter 4

Fate Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 4: Cracks in the Ice**

" _But… I don't want to have it!"_

" _No… no… please… don't!"_

" _Relax Edge, this is for your own good… don't worry…"_

" _No… AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"_

"KYAAAA!"

Illya shot awake, trembling as she held her covers tightly, a cold sweat running down the girls face as she looked around.

"What… what was that? Some kind of dream? But… it… it didn't _feel_ like a dream… it felt like a memory… and… Edge? I swore I saw him… he was scared… and small, like a little kid… and then… oh god what did I see?!" Illya put her hands on her head, keeping her eyes open for fear of seeing those flashes she'd seen again, of a scared, dark haired little kid clutching to a stuffed animal, of that same kid being held in place while a man placed something on him… and then the screaming… haunting, bone chilling, bloody murder _screaming_ of a child in pain.

"Hmm? Illya? Is something wrong, you look like you've just seen a ghost! Bad dream?" Ruby floated up, and Illya nodded.

"Some… something like that…" Illya murmured, setting her hands on her lap, _"Why would I see something like that in a dream? That's just… that doesn't make any sense!"_

 _ **Coltheart Compound**_

Edge was meditating in the open, lush central yard of the compound, his legs crossed and his hands folded in the space in his lap, his breathing staying steady as the steady trickle of water filled the morning air, and after a clack sounded, he picked up a nearby practice sword and swung it down, repeating a simple back and forth practice movement.

" _I just have to keep my mind off of this. Those two Mage Association girls are still looking for the next Class Card… so for now, don't worry about them, and focus on getting stronger… as I am now, if we face Assassin next, I should be able to run okay, though unlike Caster classes, the Assassin class focuses on deception and close range attacks… but, then there are Saber and Berserker… the peerless sword wielder and the mad warrior… where I stand now, I have no idea how I'd fare against a Saber class enemy, and as for a Berserker, no way I could handle it without help from them…"_

" _I thought that we could be friends you know?"_

Edge ceased his movements as Illyas words stuck in his head, his grip on the practice blade tightening, the sound of the wood straining just a but noticeable, and then he shook his head.

"No, don't dwell on it. It doesn't matter. As soon as this Class Card business is done and taken care of, I have no reason to even associate with them… but… why does it bug me? It's like something just keeps nagging at the back of my mind about all of this…" Edge stood there for a moment, trying to clear his head, and after another moment, a vein popped on his forehead and he threw the practice sword onto the ground before letting out an angry growl.

And as the boy raged and grumbled to himself, sparks flying from his choker, Albert walked by the path and spotted the frustrated boy as he threw his fists through the air while raging, and the elderly butler sighed as the boy opened a tear and yanked out a great sword… only to promptly get electrocuted from the feedback of _whatever_ kind of limiter was on him, because Albert could definitely tell it was part of the nature of that dark seal on the boy.

"Young master, you should refrain from trying to draw out Replica Phantasms that you currently cannot handle as well as the others. Even if your seals are progressively breaking due to stress, do remember to take caution that you _are_ still bearing a limiter on your prana." Albert advised, looking down at Edge after the boy fell flat onto his back, blankly staring up, yet another new streak of white in his hair, _"By now it's easier to say his hair is white with black streaks instead of black with white streaks…"_

"I know Albert…" Edge sighed and sat up, rubbing his neck, "I can't help it sometimes… still, I hate this limiter… every time my mana freaks out I get zapped… soon enough there won't be any black left in my hair if it keeps up like this…"

"That may be so, but we shall see… as for now, how are your seals holding up? When you returned home the other day, another one had broken, right?" Albert asked, Edge nodding, "And why was that?"

"I… may have went a little crazy and shot a lot of Gandr bolts… it was the Einzbern girl… I mean, it wasn't anything bad… but… I got embarrassed and may have overreacted as well… hagh…" Edge sighed, and Albert glanced down at the boy.

"And why, may I ask, were you trying to harm the Einzbern?" Albert asked, Edge looking to the side.

"I was just embarrassed… I was trying to get it across that we have no reason to associate, even with this fiasco I've been dragged into… and then she… may have mentioned how I like penguins… cause I… guess she saw me drawing them in class… so I… reacted." Edge started twiddling his thumbs, and Albert sighed.

"From the sound of it, I fully assume this girl is trying to befriend you… and _you,_ young master, are being as stubborn about making friends as you always are." Albert sighed, Edge's left eye twitching.

"SO?! I don't need friends! I'm a magus of the Coltheart family… friends who aren't involved in this world would do nothing but get in the way… so what's the point?!" Edge snapped, and Albert swiftly chopped him on the head, "OWWWW!"

"It's that very same mindset that resulted in your father being how he is now, and I do not wish to see one as naturally kind as you fall to that as well. You're a kind, gentle young man young master, do not let your cynicism override that… if anything, someone trying to actively befriend you even after being pushed aside is something you should think about before being so stubborn."

Edge just looked to the side as he was scolded for something that was common for him… he never did like associating with people to boot.

" _But, considering this is a child with the intelligence to have, at least in America, already graduated high school… he probably still feels alienated… he's stuck with a stigma that he doesn't belong in the world of a non-magus."_ Albert sighed as he made that observation yet again, Edge fiddling with the newest strand to have paled out, annoyance on his face. "Fiddling with it won't change the color… the change is permanent and you know it young master."

"Yeah yeah… and besides… what's the point of allowing people to get close to me? I'm a walking case of misfortune… anyone who chooses to get close to me is in for nothing but trouble." Edge grumbled, swiftly getting smacked on the head again. "WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT?!"

"Don't say you're walking misfortune when, this time around, _you_ found the trouble. It wasn't just some stroke of bad luck that you encountered those four you speak of, _that_ was a choice you made yourself by entering that tear. Young master, whether you admit it or not, you yourself involved your actions with theirs. I have served your family since your grandfather was alive, I know for a _fact_ heirs of the Coltheart name do things for a reason… whether known by them or not. So, don't try to push away those with whom you caused your fate's threads to entangle with on that night."

"Pff, fate shmate… I don't believe in that kind of stuff." Edge grumbled, looking to the side.

"Hagh… whatever shall I do with you? But please, at least _try_ to be friendly and set aside whatever grievance you have now… if someone is earnestly trying to befriend you, then at least apologize for being rude and try to start over as well… I recommend you do that at school today."

"AGH! I TOTALLY FORGOT! CRAP I'M GONNA BE LATE!"

Albert chuckled as Edge shot up and ran off, leaving his practice sword behind, though Albert hummed as he picked it up.

"Hmm… heavier than it should be… actually, considering how he was using it, I think it works fine for him. Good luck today."

 _ **Classroom**_

Edge sighed as classes finally came to an end for the mid-day break, his head hitting the desk as he sighed.

"Note to self… never be late again…" Edge muttered, thinking back to how he'd been walloped via thick magazine by Taiga for entering later than SHE had… which could be considered a bit of a feat since the class knew Taiga usually got there quickly.

Edge then sighed and glanced up, looking to Illya as she put her things in her back, and then he thought back to Albert's previous words that morning.

" _But please, at least try to be friendly and set aside whatever grievance you have now… if someone is earnestly trying to befriend you, then at least apologize for being rude and try to start over as well…"_

Edge let out a heavy sigh and stood up, clearing his throat as he tapped Illya on the shoulder, the girl turning to him, and he looked away a bit.

"Einzbern… can we talk… privately?"

Illya blinked, then nodding…

XXXXX

"I'm sorry!"

Now on the roof, Illya took a moment to process and Edge bowed down in front of her, the boy hiding his face as he spat out the rapid apology, Illya then yelping.

"EHHHHH?! W-what are you apologizing for?!" Illya yelped, Edge drawing in a sharp breath.

"I was a jerk… I really was… and… I'm sorry… I just… have my reasons but… maybe… maybe I should start trying to make friends so… I'm sorry for being a jerk when you were just trying to be nice! And… I'm also _really_ sorry for trying to shoot you with Gandr bolts! I overreacted and it was uncalled for!" Edge's head hit the ground a bit too hard, and he could be seen shuddering from it, but he took it anyway, Illya still in shock by such a move.

"Well… uh…" Illya murmured, and then Ruby flew out.

"About time you apologize! What were you thinking, trying to shoot Illya like that?! If you'd actually hit her you'd have serious hurt her you know?" Ruby stated, and Edge merely grumbled a bit.

"I know, and that's why I'm apologizing right now!" Edge snapped, glaring at Ruby, then sighing, "Look… I may have a cold father, but, I do have a father figure in the family butler and… I've been stubborn… he made that obvious to me… and I decided I should apologize after what he said to me… it was because of my own choice I'm involved in this Class Card business anyway, so I have no reason to be resentful… it's… just a personal thing… so I'm sorry." Edge stated, still on his hands and knees, and Ruby chuckled.

"Took him long enough to admit his involvement was entirely his fault. Illya, are you going to say anything?" Ruby hummed, Illya blinking, still in a bit of a shocked silence at what was going on.

" _When I first met him, not only did he save Miyu, he also helped us fight Caster… and he did it while smiling… looking at him now and then, even if it was just a short time ago… I kind of wanna see him smile like that again. And, after getting to see how he can be usually, even if he can be a bit of a jerk… he is nice… and I_ do _want to be his friend after all. And here, he's giving me a chance to do that."_ Illya thought, then gleaning a small smile of her own, and she held a hand out to Edge as he kept bickering with Ruby while the girl stood there, and Edge then looked a little confused himself.

"Alright, I accept your apology. I am trying to be your friend after all, so why would I not accept an apology like this?" Illya chuckled, and Edge blinked, looking down at the hand offered to him.

"Yeah but… I mean…" Edge murmured, and Illya knelt down.

"We're still kids silly. You can be yourself around me if you want to. I don't know a lot about what it's like, growing up as a magus, but, I can guess it was hard on you, right?" Illya asked, Edge nodding, "And honestly, I like your smile, it's sweet, and I wanna see it again."

Edge notably blushed a bit at the comment, and Ruby snickered, and for whatever reason, two glowing zeroes appeared over her "face", the first digit then switching to a five before both numbers faded while the Mystic Code kept snickering.

"It's… not that big of a deal but…" Edge cleared his throat and stood up, Illya rising, her hand still held out, "I… guess I can be fine with that… ahem… so, could we start over then? Bury the hatchet that I threw at you?"

"Mhmm! Sure! I'm Illya von Einzbern, nice to meet you!" Illya smiled, and Edge nodded, then taking the offered hand in a hand shake.

"And I'm Edge Coltheart. Nice to meet you as well." Edge chuckled, a hint of a smile returning on his face, and Ruby's new point counter went up one point.

"Well, it's a start." Ruby hummed, and then she hummed when she saw Miyu storm in, "Oh no…"

"So this is where you two vanished off to." Miyu deadpanned, and Edge sighed.

"And it's little miss Ice Queen again… weren't you content with ignoring my existence in it's entirety?" Edge murmured, rolling his right arm.

"Uh oh…" Illya muttered, worried about where this could head.

"Your involvement with this is unnecessary. I don't see why you don't just tell Lluvia and Rin that you're going to back out." Miyu stated, Edge folding his arms behind his head.

"It's my fault for getting wrapped up in this mess, so I have to own up to it and see it through." Edge retorted, "As I see it, if I _don't_ see this through, it's like being that dumb one off character who's only important for one part and then is forgotten about… and no way in hell am I going to be regulated to that role."

"You'd be better off in that role, as there isn't a _purpose_ for you to be involved in this. It was a random chance encounter, and you just happened to show up at a time where you'd be useful. You yourself even said against a Saber or Berserker, you'd basically be useless." Miyu stated, and Edge's eyes narrowed.

"That was _before…_ in case you didn't know, my seals are breaking, and I'm getting stronger… I'd say my prana output is getting up there, and I have more skills to use than _just_ my family's magic… I'd probably stand a fair chance now. I'm sure as hell stronger than you are at your current point." Edge bit in response, he and Miyu staring each other down, Edge with an annoyed face and Miyu remaining expressionless, though icy auras were coming off of the two of them.

"Ahhh! Hey come on now you two, we're all friends here right? There's no need to be so cold!" Illya jumped in, and Miyu sighed.

"You're part of the problem as well, Illyasviel. You insist on befriending him when he has no purpose here in collecting the Class Cards, when he does nothing but complicate the process in collecting them as well. It's your rampant insistence on it which makes you part of the issue." Miyu looked at both before her coldly, and Edge looked even more annoyed than before.

"What, do you think you can gather all those cards yourself?" Edge muttered, Miyu nodding. "Well you're dead wrong if you think you can! Sure, maybe against an Assassin class, especially if you use that Lancer card or something similar of what you _do_ have… but against a Saber or Berserker? They're two of the strongest classes, Berserker especially!"

"It doesn't matter, I'll beat them all and collect the cards. Alone if I have too. I'm only accepting Illyasviel's help because she has Ruby… but you, Coltheart, are odd… something about you stands out, and it's more than just your overabundance of prana and that choker of yours." Miyu bit, still holding her monotone, and Illya looked completely lost as she was stuck between the icy auras.

"I don't know what to do right now!" Illya yelped, and Ruby sighed.

"I think we should just let them get whatever it is off of their chests." Ruby stated.

"I agree… perhaps they just need to get all the animosity out of the way beforehand." Sapphire spoke up, Illya looking between both Mystic Codes.

"Shouldn't you two be trying to help me stop them or something?! The entire school will freeze over if this gets any colder!" Illya yelped, and the icy air simply intensified. "WHAT DO I DO?!"

"Heh, well, I would tell you that extra bit I mentioned, but I prefer to keep _that_ under wraps." Edge scoffed, Miyu glancing at the wrapping peering out from his sleeve.

"I suppose is has to do with that wrapping on your forearm."

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. I'm not telling."

"Some kind of other magic you won't say you have?"

"Not saying."

"Then as far as I'm concerned, you're either bluffing and are more useless than I previously thought, or are indeed hiding something other than some vulgar scar on that arm."

"Remind me who it was who managed to break through Caster's barrier again."

"That was luck on your part. We'd have managed to win on our own, even without your help."

"Yeah well looks like it didn't go that way."

"Pointless."

"Ice Queen."

"Replacement."

"Heartless brat.

"Entitled child."

Illya could only watch as the two continued the back and forth trade of insults, Edge getting more annoyed by the moment as Miyu just remained stoic.

"Can't we all just be friends here?! I thought you said you were going to be nicer!" Illya yelped, turning to Edge.

"Baby steps!" Edge grumbled, flexing his right hand as he started taking breaths to calm himself down. "Look, Miyu, I know you think my being involved is pointless…"

"Because it is." Miyu interrupted, Edge letting out a low sigh, then clearing his throat.

"… _ahem,_ Let me finish." The boy muttered, "But I see it as a way to give help where it could be needed. Heroic Spirits are powerful, and since things have simply been narrowed down to Assassin, Saber, and Berserker, you guys are going to need all the help you can get."

"Well we don't need your help, that's for sure." Miyu spat, Edge sighing through his teeth.

"God damn you are stubborn you know that?!" Edge sighed, "Alright then, I propose a challenge, Miyu Edelfelt!"

Miyu tilted her head as Edge pointed a finger at her, humming.

"The next time you find a Card, I'll attend this battle… if I kill the Servant and collect the card, then _you_ have to stop complaining about me being here!" Edge stated, Miyu humming.

"And if I get the card instead?" Miyu asked.

"Then I'll back out and you can forget I was ever involved in this mess and go about your merry way with this." Edge responded, "And, if Illya gets the card, then no dice, we try again… or, we settle it by fighting head to head if we have to."

"Alright then, fine… we'll see who can get the next Class Card first in the next battle. The one who lands the final blow on the enemy wins. Fair?" Miyu hummed, Edge chuckling.

"Simple enough condition of you ask me." Edge smirked a bit, lightning practically shooting between him and Miyu's locked gazes, and Illya sighed.

"This won't end well at all, will it?" Illya sighed, and the Kaleidosticks simply hummed.

"This is bound to have an interesting result, wouldn't you say, Sapphire?" Ruby hummed.

"I agree with you. I just hope this will lead to something that's not too destructive." Sapphire replied, Ruby humming.

"So now we have a rivalry between the two foils as our main protagonist is stuck in the middle between rival and love interest! Hahahaha! This is excellent!" Ruby chuckled, and Sapphire sighed.

"Sister, you need to stop categorizing people in such ways… they're only ten year olds after all." Sapphire logically concluded, and her sister made a clicking sound.

"But they are ten year olds far different than normal my dear Sapphire! For one, the young Coltheart, physically and mentally at least, is older than our two Magical Girls. Miyu is a young genius herself acts nothing like a normal girl her age. Illya herself doesn't act her age to boot! She's far more mature than she would be, even if she's an excellent magical girl." Ruby observed, Sapphire tilting herself.

"So you're saying…"

"That the children we're around act nothing like elementary students and instead are all mentally at a high school level! Don't you see how this can work? We're practically in the middle of a mahout shoujo manga ourselves! Imagine what we could bring about!"

"Sister… I think you're taking this too far… you're normally not _this_ eccentric about things."

"The addition of a viable love interest for Illya has made me decide to work harder. I'm already keeping a track of their relationship values! I expect _something_ by the time they're actually in high school! A true mahout shoujo epilogue!"

"Wow… I have nothing to say in reply to that."

And it was then that the two Kaleidosticks finally noticed something… they were alone up there on the roof, the children having left since who knew when to return to class… and a silence pervaded the air after that.

"Oops…"

 **A/N**

 **Well I think I've lingered on building up long enough. Time for a good ol' rough and tumble fight! Hehehe, next chapter is gonna be fun as all get out to write, I feel it.**


	5. Chapter 5

Fate Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 5: Servant of the Sword**

 _ **Coltheart Compound Dojo**_

"Bloody Rose…"

Edge slammed his hand down on the blood circle to draw the crimson blade, spinning it in his hand before tugging off his forearm's wrappings and pulling out a dagger while the gauze fell to the floor, and one quick swipe opened a new wound, feeding the blood to the sword in Edge's grip, a red glow along the blade until the strengthening process was finished, and Edge sighed as he rewrapped his arm, looking at the small red line starting to form in the location of the newest cut.

"Every time… wonder how some would think if they saw all the scars my arm is riddled with…" Edge simply sighed and lifted the sword up to be level, then drawing it back as he lifted his left arm, feeling the cool flat slide along the smooth skin as he moved his feet into a stance, his eyes flitting between the practice dummies, and with a shot forward and a rapid movement that was blindingly fast to any who would see it, Edge skidded to a stop behind the dummies as they fell to the ground in perfect halves.

"Hmph… now I just have to be able to use this power in a real fight, and not just against any sort of dummy meant for practice." Edge murmured, and then he blinked when Albert entered, the man looking at the red stained dummies on the floor, and the red blade in Edge's hand… and since he had no excuse, Edge didn't even try to hide the sword.

"I was wondering why it seemed your blood had become… different in recent years… now I see why. Tell me, young master, how long have you been practicing this art?" Albert cut right to the chase, and Edge sighed, setting the sinister sword across his shoulders.

"About three years now… I found this… time in the library… and it reacted when some of my blood dropped onto it… but, it's for a good reason!" Edge quickly spat, looking to the ground, "I want a power that I can call mine, not my family's… a magic I can fight with that doesn't connect to some stupid power limiter that's holding me back… so… don't tell dad about this… I just want to be able to do something on my own."

Albert let out a sigh, looking at how Edge had stiffened up, and then he approached the boy, who tensed up, expecting the usual smack to the head… but instead, he simply had his hair ruffled by the old butler.

"I think you working to master a new magic on your own is something of value… now, since it seems you need to actually test your skills with this sword against actual enemies, and I am your usual sparring partner…" Albert drew his usual daggers, and Edge blinked again, "Besides, you're a skilled enough swordsman with your physical skills… and if this is new magic to train up, then as your butler _and_ master in combat it is my duty to see that you refine these skills to their maximum potential."

Edge smiled and then nodded, taking his own stance as Albert turned to face him, the room soon filling with the sound of blades ringing against one another…

 _ **One Day Later/Nightfall**_

"The bridge again huh? Odd that it took them this long to find it, and we just end up back where I got caught up in this mess."

Edge looked out over the edge of the now empty bride as night began to overtake the city, his gaze raking over the smooth expanse of the river as he continued along the length to the other side, and once he reached it, the other four were already waiting for him.

"Well about time you show up." Rin hummed, Edge narrowing his gaze.

"Not my fault I live all the way on the other side of the bridge." Edge muttered, "So, any idea what we're fighting?"

"Sadly no. We don't know which card we'll be facing until we actually battle them… but, since we _have_ defeated four already, it's been narrowed down of course. We just don't know which one to expect." Lluvia responded, Rin nodding.

"So let's just try our luck and hope for the best." Rin state.

"Yeah because luck has always helped in the world we live in…" Edge offhandedly muttered to himself, giving a slight sigh, "Alright, let's do this."

Miyu silently nodded and held Sapphire out, and Edge blinked as a magic circle began forming under the group, and Edge could see the flicker of a Tear starting to open wider as the circle expanded underneath the feet of everyone.

"That's a big Tear…" Edge murmured.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Illya asked.

"Whatever spell is being used, it opens a Tear up that's already existing to be wide enough for multiple people to enter… Twintails and Blondie explained some of the methods you guys used to me over the week." Edge murmured.

"WE HAVE NAMES YOU KNOW?!" Rin and Lluvia snapped, Edge shrugging in reply.

"Still working on the being nice thing huh?" Illya's shoulders sagged, and Edge shrugged again.

"It'll come along... just not when we need to be serious." Edge stated, and he blinked as a flash rose up once they were transported into the mirror world.

"Dimensional transport complete." Sapphire murmured, and everyone began looking around.

"Alright now, be ready, the card should appear any moment now." Rin murmured, and she blinked when Edge held a finger forward.

"It was waiting for us." Edge murmured, everyone looking forward to see a small figure barely Edge'ssize standing there wreathed in black fog, garbed in a black battle dress with a black, red veined visor shrouding their eyes, a black, ominous sword planted in the ground before them, and Edge blinked as in his head, he ran a simple spell he'd learned… Structural Analysis, a basic skill that ran into using Projection Magic, "That sword that's… Excalibur?! Guys, if that's Excalibur then…"

"Excalibur?! You mean the strongest holy sword?!" Rin gasped.

"Which would mean we're facing a Saber Class… just our luck…" Lluvia growled, and Illya blinked.

"HUH?! W-what do you mean, is that bad?!" Illya gasped.

"Illya, the Saber class is the strongest type of Servant Class there is aside from Berserker… peerless swordsman who made their mark in history in some way… the ultimate Servant." Edge muttered.

"He's right. This will be a challenging battle." Sapphire spoke up.

"We can handle it." Miyu muttered, and then, the Saber class drew it's blade out of the ground, and when their foe swung, Edge shot in front of the group, holding his arm out.

"Replica! Rho Aias!" Edge yelled, the phantasmal shield blooming before them as a dark blast of power shot forward, crashing into the shield before dispersing after a moment, Edge growling as the Saber began to walk forward. "Well, guess we're cutting aside the BS with this one then! Replica! Caladbolg!"

Edge drove his hand into the Tear and extracted the spiraled sword into his hands, the Saber already shooting forward and bringing their blade down, Edge blocking the dark sword with his own blade, though he barely managed to avoid being pushed back.

"Well we're sure as hell not being given time to breath! I can hold them off for a bit, you guys make some kind of plan while I do so!" Edge snapped, gritting his teeth as Saber kept pushing against his blade, "You're not getting out of the blade lock yet!"

"Are you sure?! You're fighting a Servant, and you're just a normal mage!" Rin shouted, and Edge chuckled.

"A mage made to be able to win a Holy Grail War! Even if most of my power is sealed, by now and with the training I have, I can hold my own for a while at least, so don't worry!" Edge yelled, diverting his foes sword down and going for a kick, though he growled when his opponent didn't even so much as budge despite the kick to the head. "Damn!"

"Illya!"

Illya turned away from the now ongoing duel, back to the other three, though the sound of dirt being kicked up and swords ringing as they slammed against each other stood out against anything else in the air at the moment.

"Sorry!" Illya yelped, facing Rin and Lluvia.

"Alright, so we know we're against a Saber Class now… and that this Saber is using Excalibur… but, how did the kid even know that?" Rin asked, Lluvia humming.

"Perhaps he can identify and analyze weapons… as a Coltheart, I give no doubt he may also be able to use Projection Magic and it's supplementary crafts… this will be hard, but, you two can do it!" Lluvia reassured.

"Aren't we supposed to be planning?!" Illya yelped, pointing to the ongoing fight as Edge was swatted aside, only to push back into the fray.

"We're trying! Saber class spirits are practically immune to magic attacks!" Rin snapped, and then she blinked when she saw something, "Look!"

Everyone turned back to the ongoing duel, and they saw how Edge's blade finally made it past Saber's, the ripples in the air assisting the slash as Edge slammed his foes armor, cracks appearing on the side that was hit before a hole was shattered open, and Edge smirked a bit, though his eyes widened and he was sent flying by a hard kick to his stomach, a swift, simultaneous move breaking his chosen sword in two just as fast, and Edge skidded to a stop on his back, the shard of the sword still in his hand as the tip fell to the dirt.

"You guys have something coming along now?!" Edge snapped.

"We got it! Illya, Miyu, we need to find a way to shatter that spirit's armor! Once you get that done, Edge can run her through with one of his Replicas easily!" Lluvia declared.

"Never thought I'd agree with Lluvia but that's our best shot right now!" Rin added, giving a reluctant nod.

"Better than nothing! Replica! Ascalon!" Edge slammed his hand into another tear, ripping free a silver bladed sword as he moved to block the black blade bearing down on him. "I'll keep her at bay while you guys break her armor!"

Illya nodded as Edge pushed back against Saber, and as they watched, the others could still see that dense fog surrounding the spirit, like an aura of dread wreathed the spirit.

"We need to get rid of that fog before anything else!" Ruby shouted.

"That fog is a thick layer of mana that no doubt protects the spirit from other mana based attacks. The Replica's phase through because they are solid weapons, not mana based." Sapphire added in.

"Right. Illyasviel, attack from above since you can fly. I'll get behind the Spirit and go for an instant kill so we can end this once the armor has been breached." Miyu stated, already jumping off, Illya yelping.

"What?! Miyu that wasn't the plan!" Lluvia yelped, "Grgh, what is she thinking?!"

" _This must have to do with that bet they made… oh man, I knew it wasn't going to end well!"_ Illya thought, flitting up into the air and getting a better view of the going fight, still shocked as Edge moved with enough practice and precision to counter Saber's moves, even if he was having a hard time getting an opening to attack.

"Illya, if we can distract her with a blast, then perhaps we can give Edge an opening to attack the armor!" Ruby stated.

"Good idea! Alright, Edge, look out! FIRE!" Illya yelled as she fired a large blast straight at Saber, Edge skirting back, the blast stopping dead on an orb like shield from by the fog, and Edge snickered.

"Alright, nice move Illya! Thanks for the opening!" Edge yelled, shooting back in, Saber glancing at the boy as his sword came at her back, the blade moving past the mana blocking shield and right into the back of the dark spirit's armor, the sound of breaking metal sounding, though once Saber was knocked back, Edge was holding another broken blade, the pieces dropping into Tears as Edge released the hilt. "Darn… I can dent the armor and break it, but each time I do, it wears down a Replica… whatever that armor is made out of, it's tough, and I'm guessing that fog is helping with wearing down the blades… but, fine by me, I don't care if I have to spend an entire day fixing Replicas, I _will_ kill you!" Edge snapped, drawing out Rho Aias again as Saber shot another blast of dark energy his way, one of the shields layers shattering before the blast faded, Edge standing amid the smoke.

"That was a good move the two of them made back there." Rin observed, feeling somewhat impressed.

"Yes, but Edge lost two of his Replicas. No matter how expansive the Lorelei Vault is, he only has so many to go through. And against a real Noble Phantasm, who knows how long they'll last before they, and he, give out?" Lluvia posed, Rin nodding.

"There's no doubt just drawing out one takes a good amount of mana just to use the power the weapon has… and unlike Illya and Miyu, Edge doesn't have an unlimited pool of mana to draw off of." Rin added, and the two jumped out of the way when Saber sent a blast towards them, and then another one towards Illya, who shot out of the way of the blast, both attacks exploding as they hit the wall of the bounded zone of the Mirror World's distortions.

"No way… w-what kind of power is that?!" Illya was shocked in place as Saber stared up at her from behind the visor she wore, prepping her blade for another attack, though as she did, another blade slammed into her chest plate, Edge glaring as he kicked the spirit's head again.

"Don't even try! Illya, now's not the time to stand around in shock! We have to stay focused, even against an enemy like this… ggh…" Edge growled a bit, then pushing his hands into a new Tear and extracting a second sword, a spark shooting off his choker, "Don't you even dare right now… MIYU! Are you going to help us here or not?!"

As Edge got back into a melee exchange with Saber, his two swords against the powerful one, Miyu came out from the woods and fired a blast of her own, Edge ducking it and shooting forward once the mana barrier was up, forcing his swords through the fog and slamming Saber's chest plate, the fog sphere blew apart.

"Illya! Now!" Edge snapped, Illya blinking as Edge held Saber in place.

"Got it! FIRE!" Illya released an evern larger blast than the previous one, edge shooting back as he drew his swords away, Saber turning just in time to see the blast slam her dead on, and Edge panted as the smoke rose up, though he shot back when another blast shot through the smoke and revealed Saber again, her armor damaged but the chestplate just open enough now from the damage received… even if the rest of her was unscathed.

"Man… a blast like that and only the armor is damaged? The hell kind of enemy is this?" Edge grumbled, wiping off his lip, a notable cut on his cheek showing as it bled openly.

"Doesn't matter. As long as there's enough room to pierce through." Miyu murmured, holding out Sapphire and the Lancer card, "Include."

Sapphire shifted into an ominous red spear that Miyu twirled into a steady grip.

"Wait, Miyu don't jump the gun!" Edge snapped, but red light was already coming off of the spear as Miyu took a stance.

"She's actually going to try and finish it now!" Illya yelped, already moving out of the way, and Edge drew out Gae Dearg.

"Gae… Bolg!" Miyu shot forward like a bolt of lightning shooting for her target, but, almost like some kind of defying of the effects of the spear, Saber _deflected_ the first blow coming from the spear, the second one coming back and, while the aimed mark, the heart, wasn't hit, Miyu managed to pierce through the spirit's lower torso, and then Edge shot forward himself with his spear, getting his weapon through the opposite place, though his blow was deflected with a swift move of the arm.

"Gotcha!" Edge scoffed, though the spirit didn't even so much as flinch after having taken _two_ spears through the gut, though, to his shock, Saber took one arm and broke Gae Dearg clean in two, and Miyu pulled back, though Saber grabbed the spear before it could exit, dropping her sword and grabbing Edge, chucking both children into the air like ragdolls right over the river.

"MIYU!" Lluvia, Rin. and Illya yelped, and Edge was already sorting things out as they fell, though on direct instinct, the boy grabbed Miyu and got himself below her as Sapphire reverted to staff form, though before the two hit the water, Illya shot by and grabbed Edge's hood, the three skidding to a stop on the ground, ending up in a heap as dust was kicked up around them.

"Ahhh… owowoowowow…" Edge muttered, holding his left side as Miyu and Illya got up.

"AH! Edge are you okay!? I didn't mean to grab you like that!" Illya yelped, Edge sitting up.

"I'm fine but… we still have… Saber to worry about…" Edge muttered, pointing back to Saber as she ripped the piece of Gae Dearg that was still stuck right out and tossed it aside, reclaiming the dark sword and stalking towards the three children.

And then the Spirit stumbled as it drew closer, jabbing her sword into the ground like a crutch, though after growling in anger and from the struggle, collapsed to the ground as blood seeped from the two stomach punctures, Edge, Illya, and Miyu left staring at the seemingly dead enemy before them.

"That was… anti climatic..." Edge murmured, standing up, Lluvia and Rin blinking.

"No way it would go down that easily." Rin murmured.

"Maybe it did… I mean, Miyu and Edge _did_ stab it twice through the stomach… even against a Spirit, that would _have_ to be a lethal blow." Lluvia added.

"Did… did we actually win?" Illya blinked, still in surprise at the sudden collapse.

"It seems that way… but… why hasn't the body vanished yet?" Miyu inquired, and Edge narrowed his gaze a bit, and then, with enough force to blow them back, black mist burst forth like a storm around the body, blowing the five backwards from the sheer force of it all.

"What the… what kind of Spirit is this?!" Edge gasped, the enemy already rising up again…

 _ **To be continued…**_

 **A/N**

 **Decided to split the Saber fight into two as well… for good reason as you will all see.**


	6. Chapter 6

Fate Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 6: Sword and Bow**

"What the… what kind of Spirit is this?!"

Edge was stuck in shock as Saber rose up again amid the storm of mist that kept buffeting the team, a low growl coming from the Spirit as she reached for her blade, ripping the dark sword out of the ground as mist swirled around that as well.

"How is it even standing? We ran it through twice." Miyu muttered, shielding her eyes from the buffeting gale.

"It _is_ a Heroic Spirit!" Edge snapped, and then Saber rose up her blade, "Replica! Rho Aias!"

The shield rose up before the blast came it's way, Edge working to keep the bounded field up as the layers began breaking away one by one, the final layer shattering as the blast finally exploded, sending everyone flying back, though Edge felt the most pain as his limiter reacted, immediately paying back to toll in force, Edge in a spasm of pain as bolts arced on him, yet another new streak showing itself in his hair.

"Gaaagh! Frickin… FUUCK!" Edge snapped, an eye shut as he tried to stand up, his vision blurry as he saw Saber starting to approach again.

"Darn, this isn't good. Illya, get Edge out of the line of fire!" Rin snapped, Illya nodding, and Edge yelped as he was dragged off again.

"HEY! Illya I can still fight darn it!" Edge snapped as he was let go, and Illya stood in front of him when he moved to go back into the fight as Miyu, Lluvia, and Rin stared down Saber.

"You can't! If you fight after getting hit by the recoil again, won't it just get worse? What if one of your seals break, you'll be unable to move for a while too!" Illya retorted, Edge growling.

"I'll be fine! You guys need as much help as you can against that spirit!" Edge snapped in reply, Illya standing firm. "Illya, think reasonably. I recover quickly if it's just recoil, I'm fine!"

"But that also means you've reached your limit right?" Illya insisted, and Edge growled, looking back to the horribly one sided fight, Miyu trying to fend off Saber while Rin and Lluvia used gems to attack, and Edge sighed.

"Aim for the heart." Edge replied, and Illya blinked, "Aim for the heart! Spirits like that have weak points in the head and the heart. The heart is the core of someone's mana. The head, or the heart, take those out, and you'll win, just like when fighting someone for real. The other three should already know this."

"Right! I'll be sure to aim there!" Illya nodded and jumped off, and Edge sighed, rolling his right hand's fingers, pulling his sleeve up and staring at the bandages.

"Not yet… they can handle this… at least, I hope so." Edge let out a breath, going back to focusing on the fight, now from a spectator's view.

The blasts Illya and Miyu fired kept getting stopped by Saber's renewed barrier, Rin and Lluvia's gem magic blasts just as ineffective against the dense mist that was guarding the Spirit as it progressed towards them, retaliating with the stronger blasts again and again, no sign of having slowed down at all from the earlier wounds.

"Darn, she's just fighting harder… how the heck are we going to break that barrier again?!" Rin dived out of the way of a blast that raked the ground, and Lluvia hissed.

"Edge has reached his limit, so we can't get help from his Replicas, Illya and Miyu are trying their hardest as well, but our best offensive Card can't be used again." Lluvia murmured, her eyes following the magical girls as they darted around the air.

"Ruby, what can we do?! Just attacking won't do anything!" Illya stopped her flight, panting heavily as Saber glared up at her.

"We have to think of something… there has to be a way to break through." Miyu murmured, and it seemed that Ruby and Sapphire were thinking of something at the moment as Rin and Lluvia took too distracting Saber again. "At this rate though, we won't have a chance."

"Well, there is _one_ thing… our last resort… Sapphire-chan, are you okay with it?" Ruby chirped up, her sister nodding.

"Yes, Nee-san." Sapphire responded, Illya and Miyu looking at one another.

"Darn it… come on, I can _do something…_ why am I standing back?" Edge growled, flexing his right hand, and as he brought his thumb up to his mouth, intending to break the skin, he stopped when he saw Miyu and Illya land on the ground, "What are they doing?"

Illya and Miyu started running to the two teenagers, who gasped as they turned, and the magical girls had to duck a blast from Saber, and amid the opening, the two of them quickly threw the Kaleidosticks to the other two, and Edge blinked in surprise as light burst into a blaze.

"What the?" Edge murmured, shielding his eyes from the glow, though it began to die down rather quickly, revealing Rin and Lluvia in their own Trances, which were much different than the ones used by Illya and Miyu, and of all things, included animal ears and tails that moved about. Edge at this moment felt his jaw drop in disbelief at the sight… it just looked to odd to him.

"Geez, you're such troublesome people." Ruby sighed, "I couldn't bring myself to abandon you, so this one time is special!"

"Keep talking…" Rin grumbled, "You should have done this from the start."

"Temporarily accepting guest registration." Sapphire added, "Though I'd prefer not to…"

"What are you blathering about?" Lluvia scoffed, "This is how it was meant to be."

"Now then, shall we get this show started?" Rin chuckled, Saber turning to the two teens, and Edge was coming out from the woods now, gripping the side of the tree.

"My… you still wear quite an embarrassing outfit for your age huh?" Ruby chuckled, Rin growling and then proceeded to smack the stick on the ground repeatedly.

"YOU'RE THE ONE MAKING ME WEAR IT!"

"And thus any tension that was here before has been lost…" Edge sighed, rolling his right arm as he approached Illya and Miyu.

"Looking at it from the sidelines… being a magical girl really is embarrassing." Illya murmured, Miyu nodding while Edge just clicked his tongue in reply.

"Hahahaha." Lluvia couldn't help but laugh as Rin snapped at Ruby… though it was for her usual reason, "Wearing these outfits well takes a little something called class. Like I have!"

"Ugh, she's an idiot… we have an idiot." Rin grumbled, feigning a disgusted tone.

"I guess the fashion sense of the rich is beyond our comprehension, huh?" Ruby mused, but before anything could go further, Saber fired a blast at the two, forcing them to focus on the enemy in front of them. "No time for idly standing around! We're still in the midst of battle!"

"I don't want to hear that from someone who's mind is idle all the time!" Rin growled, dodging another blast.

"Please be careful!" Miyu called out, "Her blast is a combination of mana and sword pressure. The magical barrier isn't enough to negate it!"

"That's bothersome… if we divert too much mana to defense, our offense will be weakened." Rin muttered, dodging attack after attack.

"But we won't be able to penetrate that mist wall with weak attacks." Lluvia added, watching from above.

And then Lluvia fired off a series of blasts, the power behind it much more than what Miyu could do with Sapphire, the three ten year olds being buffeted by the air that whipped around from it.

"Such power! Her base ability is completely different." Miyu spoke up, and Illya lowered her arms.

"But none of them are connecting." Illya added.

"Pretty sure that's on purpose." Edge observed, and Rin then ran in with Ruby forming a blade at her tip, Saber blocking the slash from behind, sparks flying between the weapons, and the two got into a melee, and Edge let out a breath, "Illya, Miyu, keep back…"

The two girls looked at Edge as he bit his right thumb hard, blood flowing from the wound as Edge leaned down and drew the magic circle, slamming his palm down, wordlessly summoning Blood Rose into his grip, spinning the blade to his shoulders, Illya and Miyu stunned.

"What was that?!" Illya gasped.

"Blood magic…" Miyu murmured, Edge nodding.

"Yeah… I can do a lot more than just chuck out some copies of ancient weapons." Edge nodded, stepping off and leaping, bringing his blade down and connecting with Saber's, Rin gasping as she saw the blood red sword in Edge's hands as he shoved Saber back.

"What the… the hell are you doing kid?! You're at your limit aren't you?!" Rin snapped.

"Not completely! Heh, I can do more than just my family magic. I can explain later, but for now…" Edge bit his thumb again, drawing it across the flat of his sword, a red pulse coming from it, and Edge grimance as he felt a bolt of pain as a spark shot off his choker, "Let's focus on the enemy in front of us!"

Edge shot back in and slid under the coming slash, bringing his sword back up and just barely getting blocked, the boy smirking as Saber glared down at him, rising up and sweeping his leg up for a kick, Saber catching Edge's leg and throwing him aside, though he rolled in the air and skid to a stop, Rin shooting back into the fight, yelling with each slash she made.

"Quite a voice on you! You sound like a red howler monkey that just escaped the zoo!" Lluvia chuckled, running around and laying traps, Rin growling.

"If you have enough time to say that then…" Rin growled, and Edge sighed, getting between Rin and Saber.

"Can we _not_ argue in the middle of a fight like this?!" Edge snapped, raking his sword up, a red line appearing in the air and a sound piercing everyone's ears, a wound bursting open on Saber's chest where the line had appeared.

"Whoa… that move Edge just made…" Illya gasped.

"That blood magic is powerful… but not only that, what Rin is managing… a blade of densely woven mana. With that, not only can she pierce the mana mist, it lets her use the remaining mana on defense and enhancement. I didn't know it could be used this way." Miyu observed, though after Rin, her eyes were stuck on Edge and his sword, and how sparks kept flying off of his choker as he fought on.

"But… Edge's choker, it's sparking. Doesn't that mean his limiter is reacting? How is he still fighting like that?" Illya kept her eyes following, watching the sparks flying from the clashing blades, Edge using his much nimbler body to make up for not having the same enhanced defense as Rin as they continued to swap places and take openings to wound Saber.

"He's pushing himself to fight further than his limits allow him too… it's dangerous, but, considering how much of his power is sealed away, I think Edge is forcing himself to tap into that massive reserve of mana he has. I remember Rin saying that she and Edge have the same number of magic circuits, but, Edge's output is more than twice of what she has… and he has a higher number of reserve circuits too… it's like Edge is more than human…" Miyu muttered, her own analysis running at full speed.

"In five seconds, both of you take seven steps towards four o'clock!" Lluvia shouted, Rin and Edge glancing back, spotting the magic circle on the ground as they started moving back, and both of them shot back as Saber lunged at them, the spirit's foot crashing down onto the circle, causing the ground to cave beneath her, Rin and Edge shooting forward and slashing in tandem, their blades cutting across Saber's chest, any remaining armor shattering away as the blades landed, pushing the spirit back.

"Well, she's definitely wounded. Just what the heck kind of magic are you using?" Rin murmured, her eyes on Edge as he adjusted to his normal stance.

"Sanguine Garden… a magic type I found out about in my family library… I've been practicing it for a few years now… I'm not using all of it though… I'm already pushing past my limit, and I've put Bloody Rose into Cry Camellia state. I'm either gonna pass out from overworking my mana, or anemia if I push the blood magic further." Edge replied, steadying his breathing.

"WHAT?! Stop being an idiot and back out! You've damaged your body enough as it is by continuing to push past that limiter you have. We can handle the rest from here!" Rin snapped, and Edge merely chuckled.

"Thanks for the concern, but I can go for a while longer before I hit my physical limit… my body may be the same size as this spirit's here, but I'm pretty damn tough myself. I don't spend hours a day training my ass off for nothing." Edge responded, Rin sighing.

"Your funeral kid."

"Oh shut it."

"Hagh… such unrefined hand to hand combat goes against my principles. Magical girls should attack with more flash and principle!" Ruby spouted, both Rin and Edge glaring at her in synch. "Edge, however, fits perfectly well with such a style!"

The tension was broken by Lluvia's signature laugh, and Edge sighed as the two teens started arguing. Again.

"CAN YOU BOTH JUST SHUT UP!?" Edge snapped, things getting silent again, "This isn't some comedy skit we're in right now dammit! Geez… this enemy may have a body, but it's more like fighting a beast… this is just some soulless copy of a Heroic Spirit!"

Edge pushed forward as Saber lunged again, blocking the dark blade, Edge growling as he looked at the sword during the clashes.

" _That sword is definitely Excalibur… but it's nothing more than a dark imitation… and if there's one thing I'm an expert on… it's fakes!"_ Edge thought, bringing his blade down and knocking Saber's sword away, pulling around and giving one more hard slash, red light bursting from his blade and knocking Saber to the shore, the mist around the spirit vanishing, Edge panting, an eye shut as pain arced over him. "There, are you two done with whatever you had planned?"

"Well, I suppose I should thank you and Rin for buying me time." Lluvia responded, Edge letting out a small scoff, looking up to the magic circles behind the two girls.

"Full charge complete." Sapphire relayed, and Lluvia smirked.

"Now our position is reversed from that against our previous enemy." Lluvia snickered, leveling the wand at Saber.

"You mean this was their aim from the start?" Illya asked, shocked at what she was seeing.

"I don't care about any mana mist or whatever you have…" Rin murmured, her and Lluvia readying for the attack, Edge getting out of the way, falling to a knee as he landed, "We'll blow it all away!"

"Let's hope… this ends it…" Edge muttered, shielding his eyes as the blasts were fired, the power enough to blow Saber back and into the water, a massive spout shooting into the air as waves rose and buffeted the ground, the air whipping around and buffeting everyone present, water falling like a rain storm as the swell caused by the magical blasts roared in the air, a smoldering crater right in the center of the river now.

"Oh ho ho ho ho! Simple! A sweeping victory! We're invincible!" Lluvia laughed.

"Now I finally feel better!" Rin chuckled. "But, I'd feel even better if a certain wannabe rich girl had been blown away, too."

"Huh? Who are you calling greedy?" Lluvia gawked, "I cannot overlook that!"

"Who else would it be than you?" Rin bit in response.

"And why is that?"

"Had you even an average sense of shame, you couldn't laugh so loudly, as though this were all your own achievement!"

"Hehe… that fight wasn't one sided in any way… and yet somehow I'm the only one injured in any way… granted that's my own damn fault." Edge chuckled as the two teens started arguing again, Illya and Miyu not even looking surprised, and then Edge stood up, "And while we're _on_ the topic of who did work, where's my credit eh? I did just as much as you two during that fight!"

"Ehh?! Why are you getting into this?!" RIn and Lluvia snapped.

"Well considering the fact me and Miyu happened to also wound the spirit, I'd say we deserve credit to boot! But, what can I say against two people who's very lives revolve around competing with one another eh?" Edge scoffed, and then Rin slammed her forehead on his, growling.

"I just remembered why I don't like you!" Rin snapped, and Edge scoffed, pushing back.

"Oh yeah? What, because I made a point? Or is it some other reason that irritates you eh?" Edge chuckled, lightning shooting between him and Rin, and Illya chuckled in a nervous manner.

"Y'know, I never thought about it before, but Edge and Rin are about the same height… I suddenly feel a lot smaller knowing he's the same age as me…" Illya murmured.

"And then there's how he's immaturely spatting with those two…" Miyu sighed, and Illya just nodded, then looking at the crater.

"It's just how boys act." Illya responded, though ignoring the fact Rin was in no definite way a boy, _"Rin-san and Lluvia-san's attacks were destructive on a scale larger than anything I've seen. And Edge, even without the powers we had, he still held his own with his own strength…"_ Illya thought, and Miyu was following the smoke as it drifted upwards.

"Amazing… Everything is on a different level." Miyu awed, Illya nodding.

"Peh, forget it." Edge stepped back, Rin falling and almost landing on her face, "We have to get the card and then leave right? With the spirit gone, this space won't stay stable for much longer, right?"

"Yeah, you're right… though we may have overdone it a bit." Rin murmured as she looked at the crater.

"Well, there is no kill like overkill as they say." Edge chirped.

"I just hope we didn't burn up the Card as well." Rin added, Edge shrugging.

"Well, I don't think that could happen." Lluvia responded.

"I had the same thought." Edge sighed, running his hand over his choker as the girls waved to one another, a small grin showing on his face as he looked at them happily greet each other in the wake of the fight, but, his expression soon turned to shock as he turned around as the ground rumbled, another water spout shooting up, Rin and Lluvia looking just as shocked at what they saw.

Standing on the water, gathering power amid the swell, was Saber, wounded and with a limp arm, singed and showing plenty of damage, but still standing tall and holding her sword in her off hand, mist gathering around the blade, a phantasmal image of the sword appearing in her grip.

"Excalibur." The spirit growled, lifting the blade high and letting the massive blast loose, the water swelling and the air crackling with energy, and Edge turned to the others as it approached…

And once Edge had come back to his senses, it was by the water falling on his face.

" _I'm… not dead?"_ Edge thought, managing to sit up, finding Bloody Rose by his side, his hand moving to the sword, and he put a hand on his shoulder as it ached, looking around to try and find the others, and he could see Illya struggling up herself, though they looked relatively unharmed, and an out cold Miyu was beside her.

"Illya!" Edge called out, though he stopped when he saw the decimation that was before him and the girl, the gouge in the river even bigger than before, a small canyon having been cut clean through the river, the shore they were on nothing but rubble, the remains of the bridge above.

" _This is what a Heroic Spirit can do… this is way past anything else we've seen now… that kind of power… that's not something I can match right now… out of all the Replicas I have that could come close, I can't use a single one… and I can't even use the one weapon I have that can match this thing… that blast was from some false imitation, and it_ still _did this… how are we still alive?"_ Edge had fear in his eyes as he looked over what they'd barely survived.

"Wh-What… is this?" Illya muttered, looking around at the devastation.

"That's what a Saber class can do…" Edge muttered, and at the moment, he felt incredibly small, and Miyu managed to get up as well, looking just as shocked by what she saw, standing and slowly hobbling to the other two, all three looking around.

"Rin-san… Lluvia-san… where are they?" lllya muttered, and Edge was struggling up, though he fell to a knee, and in a sudden fit, he started coughing up blood, his breath forced as he used his sword to hold himself steady.

"Dammit… that damage is catching up…" Edge hacked again, Illya gasping and leaning down by him.

"Edge?! What's wrong? You didn't…" Illya stopped when she saw the blood on the ground and on Edge's mouth.

"I didn't get wounded by the spirit… this is… ggh… internal damage…" Edge muttered, "Find… Rin and Lluvia…"

Illya nodded, standing and calling for the others who were missing, and Edge hung his head, looking at the blood on the ground, jabbing his blade into it and letting the bloody sword siphon it up, standing and slowly following Illya and Miyu as they walked through the rain, Illya calling for Rin, Lluvia, Sapphire, and Ruby repeatedly, but her cries seemed to be reaching nobody, and after so long, Illya fell to her knees, tears in her eyes, and Edge stopped where he was as Miyu did, a hand holding his side, Miyu going to Illya, but she was still stuck in disbelief as she cried.

"This can't be… No… No…" Illya tried to restrain her tears, but, her pained cry rang in the air, and Edge's grip on his sword tightened as he grimaced as the girl sobbed, and he looked out over what was left of the area as the rain began to cease, the three children left on the shore amid the dark sky of the mirror world.

"Damn…" Edge muttered, then looking down at Illya.

"How did this happen?" Illya muttered, and Miyu looked like she was about to speak, "Enough! I don't understand… I want to go home…"

Edge grimaced again, his grip on his arm tightening, but it felt like something in his shifted as he looked at the sobbing girl on the ground, like something was breaking and reforming… but he had no idea what it was.

But, the sound of crashing made Edge and Miyu look to it, and both gasped as they saw saber standing amid the mist, the spirit's empty eyes boring into them, and Miyu glanced to Illya, who wasn't even looking, and Edge growled, looking to the ground and then the sword in his hand.

"I'll fight her." Edge muttered, stepping in front of the girls.

"You can't! You've reached your limit completely, there's no way you can fight her like that!" Miyu said, and Edge let go of his arm, looking at the blood stained hand.

"I can't think of anything else to do right now… but what choice is there? I'm not sure how long I can manage… but maybe… maybe I can do something… she's wounded and crippled… just like me…" Edge murmured, gripping his sword with both hands, the blood on his left hand being drawn off, the blade pulsing as Edge held it up, "With the last bit of strength I have… I'll protect both of you… this isn't some game anymore… the bet is off Miyu… right now, all that matters is that I still have enough strength to keep you and Illya safe!"

Edge took in a breath and let it out slowly, steeling his gaze before leveling his blade and shooting forward, Saber whipping her blade up, the ring of the two swords clashing splitting through the air, and Miyu pulled Illya off to a safer spot, peering out as the ringing of blades continued on, Edge pushing forward as hard as he could against Saber, who parried his attacks and lashed back with powerful one handed strokes, some strikes hitting Edge just enough to make small cuts here and there, sparks flying off of Edge's choker as he forced himself on, the cuts on him simply being fed to Bloody Rose as they bled.

" _More… more… more! I need more than this! I need to beat her! I need to win!"_ Edge thought, slashing again and again, Saber merely stopping his attacks, Edge dodging and parrying the strikes that case at him as well, the blood from his wounds still feeing into his sword, and Edge roared as he lunged forward, power surging off of the blade…

And then the sound of shattering glass broke the air, followed by Edge's pained scream as he stumbled, Saber whipping her blade up and sending the boy flying to the ground with a blast of pressure, Edge hitting the ground hard and rolling to a stop on his back, as sword clattering to the ground before vanishing, blood pooling beneath Edge from where the seal had shattered, the boy covered by cuts.

Miyu had to stop herself from yelling, putting a hand over her mouth, able to do nothing but watch as Saber slowly approaching the downed, bleeding boy, Edge showing no signs of getting up and his breathing shallow enough to where it seemed not even that action was happening.

" _No…"_ Was all Miyu could think, and she shut her eyes as Saber raised her blade above Edge, bringing it down…

 _CLANG_

Miyu's eyes snapped open, and she gasped to see a shield hovering over Edge, Saber's sword stopped dead on it, more sparks flying off of Edge's choker, and Saber than jumped back, the shield vanishing into a tear, and Edge slowly stood up, moving limply, his face shadowed over as he stood, Saber leveling her weapon at the boy.

"Trace… on…" Edge spoke with a dead monotone, lifting his right hand to be level with his chest, red light bursting from his hand as the air swirled around him, the sound of three more shatters filling the air, but not even a flinch came from Edge, and with a crackle of power, he then swiped a weapon to his side… Saber's very sword, the blackened Excalibur… and when Edge looked up, his expression was devoid of anything resembling expression, and his eyes were a gleaming, glowing red, an ominous aura about the boy as dark power swirled around him.

"What… what is that?" Miyu murmured, stuck in shock as she saw Edge in that different state… it was like she was looking at a completely different person completely… like the boy standing across from the Spirit was a completely different individual than the one who was at death's door a moment ago.

And then Edge shot forward, much faster than before, almost vanishing in that moment before his copied sword slammed down on Saber's, dark power bursting from both at the collision, and as the two fought, it was like both were the same… no sign of feeling, both fighting with the sole purpose of killing the enemy in front of them, sparks flying from blades clashing and the sound of wounds being caused just as prevelant, both Edge and Saber bleeding from wounds, though with Edge, it's like his closed soon after they formed… not a complete healing, but stopping bleeding… but even then, the boy didn't slow down against the Spirit before him, pressing on and harder with each swing as power surged from him, Saber growling as the swords locked at their guards.

Edge was then pushed back, though he stood firm and stopped, simply gripping his sword, power swelling around it, imitating the same move Saber had done before, letting loose his own blast of power, the Spirit countering with the same attack, and after a series of blasts hitting each other again and again, Edge sidestepped one and raised the dark sword in his hands, mist swirling around it and then bursting into a sword shape.

"He's going to use that attack?!" Miyu gasped, watching as Edge raised the blade… but, just as it came down and the blast was about to be unleashed, the power suddenly gave out, the blade falling heavily to the ground as Edge's eyes returned to normal, and he was looking at the sword in his hands in shock and confusion as it vanished from his grip.

"What… what was GAGH!" Edge was blown away by a point blank blast, being launched off and crashing to the ground near Miyu and Illya, both girls in shock as Edge landed like a sack, coughing up blood as he tried to get up, collapsing and barely conscious, and Illya was stuck staring at Edge in silence and terror as blood dripped from his mouth as his body twitched from pain and injury, tears in the boy's eyes, the glassed over orbs stuck on Illya.

" _Why… he tried so hard… Edge fought so hard and even injured himself to try and help us… he fought until he couldn't move and then kept fighting anyway… I can't do anything to fix this… I can't fight… I can't save Edge… he fought so hard… why can't I do the same?!"_ Illya yelled at herself as she shut her eyes, and Miyu was backing away as Saber started approaching the three.

And then Illya felt something inside her snap, like a lock inside of her just broke as she held herself, and the air burst outwards, light shooting up from Illya, glowing, wing like pillars of mana shooting to the air from her back as the girl gritted her teeth.

"Must defeat…" Illya muttered in a monotone, one word appearing in her head.

 _ **How?**_

"Must defeat…"

 _ **How?**_

"Must defeat…"

 _ **How?**_

Illya opened her eyes again, and now they gleamed golden as she stood up.

"Must defeat." Illya's voice was clear, but still a monotone, and in her hand, she held the Archer card, lifting it up, a glow covering her body, a magic circle forming beneath her feet.

"Huh?!" Miyu gasped, looking at Illya as the air filled with power, and Edge was watching in his barely conscious state, his blurry vision just making out the shape before him as Illya.

"Il… lya…" Edge muttered, reaching a hand forward, only for his arm to limply fall, Illya glancing at him for a brief moment before kneeling down and setting the card before her, the magic circle rising into two.

"Install." Illya spoke, and multiple flows of energy burst from the circle and to her, the air rumbling from the power that was coming out, Illya standing amid the glow, and the streams died down to swirling strands of white, red energy bursting up around her body, and when it faded, Illya was garbed in red, robe like clothes with white gem like pieces at the back of the hands, black armor of some sort over her chest and short black pants with belts on her thighs and similarly colored boots, her hair pinned up now too, and out of nowhere, Illya formed a black bow in her left hand.

"N-No way…" Miyu murmured, shocked at the sight before her, and she reeled back when Saber fired a blast, though Illya blocked it by forming a purple field rather similar to Edge's blue Rho Aias… perhaps it was the original version… but then it begged the question of which Spirit's power Illya was using… if that's what she was doing.

And explosion then blasted out, and from the smoke, three objects almost like swords or arrows flew out, Saber batting them aside, Illya launching into the air and forming two blades, a black one and a white one, both short and curved, bringing them down as she reached the ground and slashing at Saber, adding more damage to the chest wounds already there, the Spirit gritting it's teeth and slashing, Illya jumping back and flipping to a safe spot, forming the two swords once more.

" _I don't believe it…"_ Miyu thought, her eyes wide, _"That form… that ability…"_

And the fight continued, both foes pushing forward and clashing weapons, Illya's dance like moves easily counter and deflecting the injured Saber's attacks as blows were continually traded, clashing metal sounding through the air as Illya flipped about to avoid the wild attacks of Saber, shooting back and attacking again, her swords breaking, but simply dodging the next attack and reforming the swords as she shot upwards, raining down the blades like thrown knives as she formed them again and again, Saber slashing at the weapons, Saber shooting to the side after the last attack, Illya landing.

"Trace: Overedge." Illya murmured, the black and white swords forming and then the blades shot up to a longer length, Illya dashing forward and clashing blades again, her and Saber shooting around quickly, sparks flying from the clashing weapons, and Illya got shot away by a strong swing, Saber launching a blast at her, Illya throwing her blades into the blast and stopping it ahead of time, landing lightly near where Miyu and Edge where, and Miyu was still amazed.

"She's turned herself into a Heroic Spirit… No, that can't be…" Miyu muttered, then glancing to Edge, moving the limp boy from where he was lying and propping him up, turning back to the fight as Edge managed to glance up as well.

Illya then formed the black bow from earlier, also forming a sword rather similar to the Replica Caladbog, then shifting it into a slimmer, arrow like form and mounting it on the bow, the projectile shooting forward like a bullet as Saber split the dust around her, getting scraped on the side of her head, and amid the silent shock of it, something came tunneling towards Miyu, which turned out to be Sapphire once it burst up, Miyu yelping in surprise.

"Are you alright, Miyu-sama?!" Sapphire cried as she squirmed about, Miyu taken aback by the sudden appearance of the Kaleidostick, her face far from her usual stoic expression.

"S-Sapphire… You're okay?" Miyu asked, a bit shaken up.

"Yes. We barely managed to duck underground and escape." Sapphire answered, "The others are injured, but they're safe. What about Edge-sama?"

"He's… he's in rough shape." Miyu murmured, looking back at Edge, who was still managing not to pass out, but showing that he was in a lot of pain from the grimace on his face.

"Is that… Illya-sama? What?" Sapphire turned and showed surprise at seeing Illya in her current state, and around Saber, the black mist reappeared, bursting upwards in a storm unlike anything from before, the Spirit raising her blade and readying another blast, just like the one from before, energy bursting off of her blade.

"Oh no… she's using her Noble Phantasm again!" Miyu gasped, "Run, Illyasviel! Even if you've become a Heroic Spirit, you can't beat that holy sword!"

Illya didn't seem to be listening though, golden light beginning to form around her as her hands were at her side, like she was about to grip the hilt of a sword, the light beginning to flor around there.

"Trace… On…" Illya murmured, and with a flash of gold, a silver and golden sword formed in her hands, a bright version of Saber's own blade… a mimic of the original Excalibur, a golden glow radiating from the blade itself, and as Illya lifted the sword high, white fathers that shone in the dark began drifting down around her as golden light rose around Illya and the blade gleamed the same brilliant color, the light soon collecting and then forming into a blade of pure energy that dwarfed it's user, the air crackling with the power from the two swords.

"Excalibur!" Saber shouted, unleashing her dark blade.

"Excalibur!" Illya returned with her own, black meeting gold between the two combatants, the air swirling from the sheer power coming from the two, Saber being pushed back but standing her ground, but, it just wasn't enough this time around, and Saber's blade was cut right through, the golden light engulfing the dark Spirit, bursting to the sky in a brilliant ray that almost seemed to pierce the ceiling of the Mirror World, and standing at the end of the glow was Illya, the projected sword vanishing from her grip, and she fell to the ground as it was gone, the Archer card rising from her and allowing the girl to revert to normal, the card fluttering to the ground.

"Heh… Illya… did… it…" Edge muttered, managing a weak smile before he himself finally gave out, passing out on the spot, his head lolling to the side.

 **After that final clash, Illya herself didn't remember what had happened. None of us understood what had happened, or what Illya had done… but, by the skin of our teeth, we managed to survive… but, I scarcely remember what had happened after Saber knocked me out… I just remember this desire to win, to have the power I needed to do so… even if it meant defying the world… that dark sword I saw after I snapped back to reality is lingering there at the back of my mind… a fake of a copy. Whatever I did… I really don't want to know what it was…**

 **A/N**

 **Oh holy crap this was** _ **long**_ **but fun to write! Phew… all right, the first cour is almost concluding and we draw closer to 2wei. Hehe, things will be fun as we cool down for a bit first.**


	7. Chapter 7

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 7: Calming down(?)**

 _ **Edge's Room**_

Edge's eyes snapped open, and he shot up in his bed, panting and looking around, soon settling himself to see he was in his room… which confused him more than it should have.

"When did I get back home?" Edge murmured, looking at his arms, noting that his left forearm _also_ had bandages on it, and he could see more under his night shirt, "So I guess I was taken back here then…"

Edge slid out of the bed with a sigh, tugging off the night shirt and putting on a sleeved black shirt and simple jeans, and after pulling off the bandages on his face, he looked at himself in the mirror, and he was surprised at what he saw.

His hair barely had any black in it now, his skin was snowy white, and when he looked closely at his eyes, flecks of paler blue all over the orbs, and he let out a heavy sigh.

"Guess I pushed myself so hard during that fight this happened… great…" Edge sighed, stretching and feeling his back pop a few times, and then he peered out of the door after sliding it open, well, he would have, if his face hadn't run into Albert's chest face first just as he did. "Uh… hi Albert…"

"Ah, I've seen you've woke up Young Master." Albert hummed, Edge moving back, rubbing his nose.

"Yeah… uhm… how did I get home?" Edge asked.

"Those two teenagers you mentioned carried you back. The black haired girl and the blonde one with ringlets." Albert replied, Edge feeling something in his mind snap a bit.

" _I don't wanna know how that went… at all…"_ Edge though, a low sound escaping his mouth.

"Also, to report, your body has fully healed already, but, during that previous fight you were in, you lost four more of your seals… which brings you down to less than half of the total you used to have." Albert stated, and Edge blinked.

" _Four?!_ I only remember one breaking? Wait…" Edge stopped, remembering that moment when his mind had felt set on one directive, _"Could I have broken three more while I was like that? When I projected that dark Excalibur?"_

Edge clenched his right hand as he thought of that sword, the image sticking in his mind, and Albert hummed as he saw the look on the boy's face.

"Well, considering the condition you were brought back in, I assume you may need to spend time repairing any damaged Replicas… am I right?" Albert asked, Edge nodding.

"Yeah… quite a few of them broke… so… yeah…" Edge muttered, and Albert hummed.

"Well, I can safely say though that with the amount of seals that broke recently, your power has boosted quite considerably, so I don't think you'll be too exhausted during the repairing process… just keep a clear head alright?" Albert cautioned, stepping out, and Edge sighed.

"Well, guess I know what I'm doing today instead of going to school…" Edge sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

 _ **Dojo**_

Edge was sitting cross legged in the center of the dojo floor, his eyes closed as mana swirled around him, various broken Replica's floating in the air with every shard of them moving around, Edge taking steady, long breaths as he held his hands out over the next one he had to repair, the parts stitching back together as he used his mana to repair them and fuse the shards.

" _One thing Colthearts have always excelled at is using prana as a way to quick fix things. Advanced Reinforcement Magic: instead of just making something stronger, we can also repair an object, stitch it back together and make the bonds strong enough to make the item even tougher than before… but… with the amount of Replicas I broke while battling Saber, I've been here all day…"_ Edge thought, done with the Replica he'd started repairing and moving on to the next one, _"Still… I can barely remember what I did back there, and that black Excalibur… the image is clawing at my mind… how the hell did I project a weapon like that? And Illya… she was able to use the Class Card to use the power of a Heroic Spirit in such a fluid way… I think that's something we'll want to look into… Install… interesting…"_

Edge let out a sigh, opening his eyes and watching how the shards of the sword he was repairing fit back together, the cracks and spaces glowing with mana as they were merged back into one item, not a mark left on the blade once the repair was done, and with each one, Edge could feel a slight drain in himself as he used his prana.

"Young master?'

"But, if such a thing can be done… do you have to use the Kaleidosticks to do it?"

"…Young master?"

"But, Illya did so without using one of the sticks… maybe that's how the cards are actually used then…"

"… Young master? Hello?..."

"And if so, then no wonder they're…"

"YOUNG MASTER WILL YOU PAY ATTENTION AND STOP MUMBLING TO YOURSELF?!"

Edge felt his spine go rigid and the Replicas floating around him fell to the ground, and he turned to see one of the household maids, the young woman sighing, a phone in her hand.

"Honestly… I understand you're focused on your work but you can't get so absorbed. You have someone asking for you on the phone. And it's a girl too~!" The maid hummed, and Edge hissed.

"Don't get the wrong idea… I'm ten, I have other things to focus on at the current time anyway." Edge muttered, standing and taking the phone.

"I give it three more years." The maid stated, leaving with a wave, and Edge sighed once again, placing the phone to his ears.

"Hello, you've reached Edge Coltheart, whaddya' need?" Edge murmured, sitting back down.

" _Uhm… h-hi, Edge."_

"Miyu?!" Edge yelped, the girl humming in confirmation.

" _Yes. I haven't interrupted anything have I?"_ Miyu asked, Edge blinking.

"No, not really." Edge murmure, waving his hand, the weapons, repaired or not, falling into tears, "You need something?"

" _Well… kind of. Illyasviel called me earlier and… well, she was acting rather strange, mainly once she saw me uh… you know what, never mind… but, I'm about to head over to Illyasviel's house now… can you meet me there?"_ Miyu requested, Edge leaning his head back as he thought for a moment, mulling over the fact Miyu sounded rather worried at the moment… maybe something was wrong with Illya…

"Sure, no issue, I'll be down there as soon as I can." Edge replied, hanging up, "Now, just how to get past Albert and the maids…"

 _ **Einzbern Household**_

"Okay… _that_ was harder than I thought it'd be…" Edge skid to a stop in front of the Einzbern house (and subsequently the mansion Lluvia lived in right across from it) on his bike, pilfered from the shed of the compound when the maids hadn't been paying attention, and he simply approached the door, noting that Miyu wasn't there… so he knocked.

"Hold on!" Sella's voice come out, and a moment later, the door was opened, and Edge waved, "Oh, are you perhaps a friend of Shirou's? Sorry, but he's not here right now…"

"Uh… no…" Edge muttered, raising a brow, forgetting that Sella had last seen him when his hair was mostly black and he didn't have such pale skin as well, "I'm a friend of Illya's…"

"HUUUHH?! W-W-what?!" Sella yelped, and Edge sighed.

"it's me… Edge Coltheart… the kid Illya brought here a few days ago…" Edge muttered, and Sella blinked, "The kid who was brought here because he was hurt."

"HUUUUHHH?! You're the same kid?! But… you look so different…" Sella looked Edge up and down, and he let out a sigh.

"Uhhh… health condition…" Edge murmured, _"Well, I'm not technically lying…"_

"Oh… well, thank goodness you reminded me! For a second there I thought you might be some kind of… uhm, you know what, never mind! Illya has a fever today so she's staying home… did you come by to check up on her?" Sella asked, tilting her head, Edge nodding, a cheek puffed out. "Oh it's so nice to know Illya has such good friends! Another friend of her just arrived… though… for some odd reason she was wearing a maid outfit… a cosplayer perhaps?"

"Eh?" Edge hummed, raising a brow, then shaking his head, "Uh, nevermind that… well, okay then… may I come in?"

"Of course, of course! Illya's room is right upstairs… but, knock first so you don't accidentally walk in on anything… though you should be fine." Sella stated, Edge nodding, and as he went past, he heard when the maid murmured under her breath, "Is Illya already interested in boys? Is she into older looking boys then?!"

" _Overprotective much?"_ Edge mentally chuckled, kicking off his shoes and trotting up the steps, and when he got to the door with Illya's nameplate on it, he knocked a couple of times, and he could hear shuffling and a bit of yelling, and he knocked again, only to not get an answer, so he slowly opened the door and peered in… only to be met with the sight of Illya _mounting_ Miyu, pinning the rather freaked out looking girl onto the bed, and Illya craned her head back, yelping when she saw Edge peering in, though he reeled back and slammed the door shut.

"SORRY!" Edge yelped, and then came Illya's scream, though it was muffled quickly.

"AHH! No no no, I'm sorry! Edge you can come back in!" Illya yelped, Edge sighing.

"Alright…"

XXXXX

A moment later, and Edge was leaning on the wall of Illya's bedroom as the white haired girl had her head bent in apology to Miyu as the other girl straightened herself out.

"Sorry, um… I just got excited…" Illya apologized, and Ruby shook back and forth to imitate shaking a head.

"Honestly, you shouldn't do lewd things to maids!" Ruby stated, "That isn't in their job description!"

"In a different setting it might be…" Edge mumbled.

"I'm sorry, it was that weird switches fault!" Illya put her head on the floor again, and Edge raised a brow at the comment.

"No, it's… you didn't mean any harm, Illyasviel." Miyu murmured, and Edge blinked.

"What the hell did I miss before getting here?" Edge let out a breath, scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry you had to see that Edge… I really don't know why I did that…" Illya murmured, twiddling her fingers a bit, and Edge put a hand up.

"What's done is done… I really don't know what went down anyway…" Edge replied, an eye shut as he spoke, "Still, you okay Illya? Ms. Sella mentioned you had a fever…"

"Oh that, don't worry, it's gone now. I'm perfectly fine. But uh… what about you? You… got really hurt then…" Illya asked, and Edge shrugged.

"I'm fine… the prana boost from my seals breaking then boosted my healing rate so I'm fine… still worn out, and I've spent all day repairing broken Replicas so I'm a little bit tired from the prana drain… fixing them requires a lot of prana." Edge muttered, sitting down and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Wow… uh, sounds tiring." Illya chuckled, not really sure how to respond to that, and she turned back to Miyu, "You know, I was thinking… isn't Illyasviel a bit long to say?"

"Huh?" Miyu hummed in reply, tilting her head.

"'Illya' is fine, all my friends call me that. Being called by my full name is kind of embarrassing." Illya stated, giving a small chuckle.

"Friends?" Miyu murmured.

"Eh?! Aren't we?! Was I the only one who thought so?! Edge?!" Illya yelped, and Edge shrugged.

"I… guess… sorta… I'm… not really good with the whole friends thing…" Edge muttered, tugging on his bangs as he hid his reddening face.

"That's not helping!" Illya yelped.

"That's not what I meant!" Miyu spoke up, lowering her hands back to her lap, "I-In that case… you can just use my… first name too…"

"Sure!" Illya nodded, standing up and holding out a hand, "It's nice to know you too, Miyu!"

"N-Nice to know you… Illya…" Miyu moved her hand out, slowly taking Illya's, and Edge chuckled at the sight, a small grin showing as he pushed his bangs back to their normal spot.

"Okay! Now let's have you wipe my body down!" Illya declared, and Edge blinked as whatever mood was in the air was officially stabbed to death in an instant.

And then Illya whipped her shirt off in a short second, Edge _and_ Miyu yelping in shock.

"Where did that come from?!" Miyu yelped, reeling back, though Illya had whipped the last of her clothes off except for her panties.

"Isn't it a maid's job to care for the sick? Serve me!" Illya yelled, pouncing, and Miyu almost shrieked.

"EDGE HELP!" Miyu shouted, Edge snapping out of his stunned shock.

"R-Right!" Edge yelped, shutting his eyes as he grabbed Illya to hold her back, keeping a hold on her waist as she struggled, "Illya whatever the heck you are doing you need to stop!"

As the three ten year olds yelled and struggled about, the Kaleidosticks landed on the table.

"Oh boy." Ruby hummed, her counter going up by a single point.

"I'm glad to see their friendship deepening." Sapphire quipped, and then her _own_ set of numbers showed up, and Ruby yelped.

"Sapphire?! You have your own RP Counter set up now?!" Ruby gasped, reeling back in shock.

"This is a TP Counter: Teamwork Points." Sapphire stated.

"Aww… I thought we could get a magical girl love triangle forming…" Ruby sighed dejectedly, and Edge growled.

"I heard that ya' damn stick!" Edge snapped…

And then the door busted open, Mimi, Tatsuko, Nanami, and Suzuka crashing into the room, everything they said a completely jumble, and everything froze as the three in the struggle also froze up and stared at the four new arrivals, Illya's friends looking over the situation, a dead silence hanging in the air.

"This isn't what it looks like I swear!" Edge yelped, dropping Illya without warning… and thus the tension in the air snapped.

"N-Naked? And a maid outfit? And a boy?!" Suzuka yelped, though she looked excited more than anything else.

"S-Sorry for intruding!" Mimi yelped, already starting to flee.

"I-it's not what you think!" Illya yelped.

"Play?! Some kind of sex play?!" Tatsuko gasped.

"WE'RE TEN!" Edge yelled, and Nanami was already snapping pictures.

"Let me take some pictures!" Nanami chuckled.

"Don't say that when you're already taking pictures!" Edge yelled again.

"S-Stop it!" Illya yelped.

XXXXX

Another short while later, and Edge was outside the house, leaning on the wall, and he gave a low sigh as he leaned his head back.

"Why did things have to be like that?" Edge tugged on his hair a bit, the door opening and the five other visitors exiting, the four normal girls leaving in one direction, while Miyu stayed for a bit, looking back as she began to cross the street, and Edge looked up with her, the two seeing Illya at the window, and Edge gave a wave while Miyu simply had a small smile on, and as Edge kicked up the stand on his bike, he turned when he felt a tug on his sleeve, spotting Miyu there.

"Can you hold on for a moment?" Miyu asked, Edge nodding.

"Sure. Not like I have much else to do besides fix a metric ton of weapons." Edge chuckled, leaning on the front rail of the bike.

"First, thank you for coming over when I asked and… I'm… sorry for how I acted before. My actions towards you were uncalled for, you were only trying to help us… even if it was only because you had been dragged into this." Miyu bowed her head, and Edge sighed, then giving a small chuckle.

"Well, really, it was all my fault. If I hadn't gone through that tear into the Mirror World that night, I'd have never run into you guys and helped you take down Caster. I doubt I'd have gotten involved at all if it happened that way… maybe…" Edge leaned on a hand, biting his lower lip a bit, "But, don't apologize… honestly I've been a bit of a jerk myself… I wasn't really raised in a way where having friends was really a priority… guess you could say it's one issue with having the body I do… even if I'm biologically ten, I'm all mixed up… body of a fifteen-year-old, mind of an eighteen-year-old at best… I'm just a whole mess of weird. So, sorry about that on my end too… I do kinda want to try and make friends now… even if we're stuck fighting Servants… we… are friends, right?"

Miyu took a moment, and after a short time of contemplation, she spoke again.

"For now, I can certainly say I trust you during a fight… but… that's all for now." Miyu murmured, and Edge simply shrugged.

"Well, guess that's good enough for me then. Least I know we've got each other's backs when it's needed." Edge stated, Miyu blinking in some surprise, and Edge just gave a grin, "I'm new to this whole thing, so I don't mind. Hehe, I'll take what I can get. Well, see ya later then!"

Miyu nodded as Edge pushed off, turning back to Illya's window again…

 _ **A few days Later/Mirror World**_

The team was making their way through the foggy woods, and Lluvia let out a sigh as they came to a stop after so long.

"No enemies… no Cards… what's going on?" Lluvia murmured, everyone scanning around.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling…" Edge muttered, rubbing his right arm.

"Are we at the wrong place?" Illya asked.

"That's impossible." Rin replied, "As long as the Mirror World exists here, a Card must be creating it."

"Oh, that's right." Illya hummed, and Edge nodded.

"Rin's right… the Mirror World is odd for an alternate space… and my family knows all about these things… but this one is different, since it's a closed off area… and since we only have Assassin and Berserker left, who knows what we'll be up against tonight?" Edge murmured, putting a hand on the ground.

"Speaking of which…" Illya spoke up again, now looking at the sky, "Isn't the dimension kind of small this time?"

"That means the distortions are shrinking as we collect the Cards." Rin added.

"So by the time we find the last one, the dimensional space won't be very big. I'd give or take the size of a small skyscraper. As a rough estimate." Edge stood up, looking at the glassy sky of the dimension.

"Probably." Rin nodded to the observation, folding her arms, "In the beginning, they were several kilometers in radius."

"Wow…" Illya awed.

"No use in complaining about it." Lluvia chirped up, turning to the other four, "Let's walk around and search."

"Right…" Illya sighed, and Edge pat her on the back briefly.

"Let's just hope we got lucky and are fighting an Assassin class… shouldn't be a hassle then…" Edge murmured as they began walking, keeping a brisk pace, but the monotony soon began to hit as they continued on. "This is so damn boring…"

But, Edge stopped when he thought he heard something pass by in the brush, and he started looking around as everyone else stopped, though the sound of something hitting wood made him turn around, and his eyes widened to see Illya falling to her knees suddenly, though she didn't even look scratched…

"Miyu!" Lluvia snapped, Miyu nodding and firing a blast that raked through the trees.

"No one's there?" Miyu muttered.

"I think I know which class this Card is now…" Edge muttered, flexing his fingers.

"Illya!" Rin shouted, Miyu and Edge turning to them, and Illya looked to be worn out, tired even, but she looked perfectly fine as well, "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… I'm fine." Illya nodded, and Edge narrowed his gaze a bit.

" _If we're facing an Assassin class, then we have to be careful… this class would use things like poison or traps to make up for lacking in direct combat strength…"_ Edge thought, continuing to scan around, the air tense around him, and he blinked when black mist flickered in his vision, and the boy looked down to see the mist flickering off of his hand, and he immediately grimaced in shock, _"What?! What the heck is this doing here?!"_

"Enemy location unknown! Form a circle! Keep an eye on all directions!" Rin shouted, everyone jumping into place, and Edge slammed his hand on the ground, drawing out a bow and arrows, one of them glinting as Edge drew it from the quiver and mounted it on the bow, taking aim as everyone else did.

"If they're trying to ambush us, they've underestimated us!" Lluvia scoffed, and Edge clicked his tongue.

"Don't get too cocky now…" Edge murmured, steadying his breathing, and a shape flickered past, Illya the one noticing it.

"Why you… hiding from us!" Illya shouted, taking aim, but her stance wavered, and her vision began to get blurry, "Huh?"

Edge briefly glanced back as he caught sight of Illya wavering, and his eyes widened to see the purple colored spot on her neck where she'd been nicked.

" _Was whatever hit her poisoned?! It had to be if the spot looks like that, because that's not a bruise!"_ Edge thought, and when he saw a glint, he fired the arrow off in the direction of it as Rin pulled Illya aside, and once could hear the thud of the arrow striking flesh dead on, followed by a body hitting the ground.

"Did you hit it?!" Lluvia shouted, and Edge let out a hiss.

"I think so… but I still have that bad feeling…" Edge muttered, picking up the dagger that was in the ground, looking at the blade, "Yeah… this has poison on it…"

Edge then ducked as more daggers came at him, Rin deflecting more, turning to Illya, who was standing stock still and quivering.

"Stay focused! You cold really get hurt next time!" Rin snapped, "Listen… if you aren't careful, you'll die!"

Edge jumped back from another set of daggers, firing another arrow off into the trees, but only the sound of it hitting wood came back, and he growled as he set another, but he glanced back at the shaking Illya, who was gripping Ruby rather tightly as her arms shook.

"Not good… if we don't end this soon…" Edge muttered, and then from the shadows, dozens of figures began to approach, some cloaked, some not, but all wearing the same skull like mask.

"There's so many!" Miyu gasped.

"Enemy confirmed." Sapphire stated, and Edge immediately went and drew out Bloody Rose instead of a Replica, "Over fifty total."

"No way…" Lluvia murmured, the team being completely surrounded now, "They have us completely surrounded!"

"What cheaters!" Rin growled.

"This is all one Servant?! What kind of Heroic Spirit has fifty bodies?!" Edge growled, again looking at Illya, who was breathing heavily and still shaking like a leaf.

"Geez…" Rin growled, tossing a bunch of gems, blowing a path open through the bodies, "Now! Run through them! If you stand still they'll target you!"

"I'll get more!" Edge nicked his thumb on his blade and ran the blood along it, a glow coming to the sword as they took off, and Edge let out a slash that made a red line in the air, said line then bursting in that same attack that he'd uses against Saber, multiple bodies being slashed open before it subsided.

"We're going to break through their encirclement!" Lluvia shouted, rushing to the head of the pack, "Miyu and Illyasviel, focus your fire to the front! Edge, take down any who try to get close!"

"Right!" Miyu nodded, already readying a blast, but the group stopped dead when they heard collapsing, Rin and Edge turning to see that Illya had fallen to her hands and knees.

"Illya?!" Rin and Edge yelled, Illya struggling to look up.

"I-I can't… move…" Illya weakly muttered, and Ruby spoke up.

"Anomaly in the mana flow. I can't maintain physical protection!" Ruby yelled.

"Anomaly in the flow?" Rin muttered.

"Poison. Illya was poisoned by that dagger." Edge muttered, gripping his sword, swatting aside a few daggers that were thrown their way, and when he turned again, there was a storm of daggers being thrown at Illya, and everyone took off.

" _This was like a bad game of chess… Rin and Lluvia had done everything right. But, we lost the first move… and Illya was going to pay the price for it. The enemy this time isn't even that strong! But, we lost the draw… but, Illya dying because of a folly move?! That's not fair! It's not right!"_ Edge thought, not noticing that the black mist was flickering around his arm again, and his eyes widened when he saw Illya's eyes change color like they had before, something that had stuck even in his hazy, wounded memories from before, and he skidded to a stop as prana began bursting from Illya's body, "Replica! RHO AIAS!"

A glow filled the air around Illya, and the daggers suddenly vanished as Edge brought up the bounded field that was the shield, and with a gathering of power, light burst into the sky with all the force of a tactical missile crashing down, the air swirling as it ended just as quickly, and at the center of the crater was Illya, the Assassin Card a short ways off from her, and nearby, a barrier made by Miyu behind Edge's Rho Aias, everyone but Illya showing physical damage, Miyu with an eye shut, and Edge had sparks flying from his choker again… and Illya looked up in horror at what she'd caused.

"Illya…" Miyu muttered, Illya speechless, and Edge let the shield vanish.

"What is this? Did I… did I do this?" Illya shuddered, looking around the crater, shaking from the shock she was feeling, and Edge, grimaced.

" _This world isn't a kind one… it's scary… and unlike me, Illya isn't conditioned to this kind of thing… to her, this is just as terrifying as a bad nightmare…"_ Edge though, and he noted the dark look on Miyu's face as Illya tried to make a sentence.

"I didn't think this would…" Illya muttered.

"That was a close call…" Miyu muttered.

"I'm sorry!" Illya gasped.

"If Edge had't formed Rho Aias and held it, and if I didn't expand my barrier magic barrier in time, Lluvia-san, Rin-san, Edge, and I would've…" Miyu murmured.

"But I thought everyone would die if I didn't…" Illya started, but Miyu stopped her.

"And this is the result. One wrong move, and everyone would've died." Miyu coldly explained, Illya gasping, and Edge looked up at her, "At your hands…"

"H-Hey!" Rin snapped.

"Miyu!" Edge gasped.

"That's not…" Illya quietly muttered, looking at the ground.

"Besides, you were the one who took the first hit." Miyu added, "And you were the one who couldn't move… you made a mistake, caused your prana to explode… and you endangered everyone."

"I didn't…" Illya pitifully tried to speak, but couldn't, and Edge had a grimace on.

"As a result, our enemy was defeated." Miyu continued on, "But, if you hand't been here, we would've never been in danger."

"Miyu! That's enough! Illya didn't know that would happen!" Edge snapped, standing up, and Miyu glared at him.

"So that's enough to excuse this for you? You're willing to put aside her almost getting all of us killed, all because she was ignorant on what the result could be?" Miyu demanded, and Edge looked to the side.

"That's… not what I mean…" Edge muttered, "But you shouldn't put this on Illya like that! It's not fair to her! I deal in probability, not absolutes, and the chance was…"

"The fact there was a chance that we could have died _at all_ was the error." Miyu retorted.

"That's part of battle! But that doesn't mean you should heap all of the blame on Illya! We're alive aren't we?! In the end, isn't that what matters?!" Edge snapped, and the air filled with a crack as Miyu _slapped_ Edge following that, Edge's eyes wide in surprise.

"You put too much trust into her Edge… I've had enough of this…" Miyu muttered, turning to Illya, "Illya, I don't ever want to fight with you again."

Edge blinked in shock, and he turned when Illya began to back away, and the girl took off crying, Edge gritting his teeth.

"What the fuck Miyu?!" Edge snapped, Miyu turning to him, "Tch… I get it, Illya messed up, and she made a mistake… but she's just ten, just like you and me! She's not some enhanced mage like I am, or some genius like you… Illya is a normal, scared girl who doesn't know what to do right now, and so you're going to look at the worst possible outcome of her screw up and make it worse for her?! She looked _terrified_ and scared! When you're friend looks like that, you don't make it worse, you help them and make them feel better, even if they fucked up!"

Miyu gritted her teeth, looking away from Edge, and the angry tears in his eyes didn't help.

"I've never had a friend before Illya… and seeing her have that face just _hurt…_ I don't know why but it felt like how it does when you get stabbed, it hurt that much… dammit…" Edge growled, looking back to Miyu, making her look him in the eye, "Tell me that you felt something too! _Please_ tell me this is hurting you just as much! Let me know I'm not the only one who doesn't want to see Illya cry…"

Miyu could only look away again, wrenching out of Edge's hold on her, her back to him.

"I'm sorry… but I can't answer that…" Miyu replied, gritting her teeth again…

 _ **To be continued…**_

 **A/N**

 **Holy crap I did this in one day… geez, I spent today doing a lot of writing… and this chapter was both fun… and draining at the end… hagh… well, continuing on! Things escalate and build as we draw closer to the final battle of the first run and then move to 2wei! See you guys next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 8: Dark Skies**

 _ **Coltheart Compound**_

Edge was standing in the yard, swinging his practice sword with a cold gaze in his eyes, the sky gray above and looking about ready to burst with rain, the quiet of the dreary morning only broken by the sound of the wooden sword moving through the air with Edge's movements, and he stopped after slamming his foot in the ground, panting as he ceased his movements, and Edge's eyes were stuck on his right forearm, still seeing the image if when the black mist was forming around him.

" _What was that? That was similar to the mist Saber had… but different at the same time…"_ Edge sighed, then raising the sword again, _"But… everything is dull again… it feels the way I did back at home in America… like a damper is on the world shutting everything out and dulling sounds… that damn feeling of isolation again…"_

Edge yelled and swung the sword, hitting one of the wooden poles for the walkway cover, the blow hard enough to crack the support _and_ break the practice sword in two, and Edge through the broke half to the side, clenching his hands as he bit his lip, thinking back to the other day and how that ended…

" _Tell me that you felt something too! Please tell me this is hurting you just as much! Let me know I'm not the only one who doesn't want to see Illya cry…"_

" _I'm sorry… but I can't answer that…"_

"DAMMIT MIYU!" Edge yelled, slamming his fist on the cracked pole, wincing as he felt pain shoot up his arm, the warm feeling of blood starting to run off his knuckles, the crimson fluid dripping down onto the support beam and to the ground, Edge pulling his hand back and looking at the bleeding, torn skin, his left hand over his left eye, "Why the hell does my chest hurt so much?"

 _ **Homurahara Elementary**_

When Edge finally made it to class, he entered with his injured right hand wrapped in bandages, and he silently took his seat amid the chatter, a silent Miyu staring at the window, and Illya in her spot… and a tense air filled the room, the air in the room seeming to drop a few degrees just from the cold air around the three…

And the buzz in the room sounded like a dull drone to Edge, who merely started drawing in his notebook… and the image that came out from the subconscious drawing was a perfect diagram of the blackened Excalibur… each detail he could remember about it being translated onto the lined paper, and Edge sighed as he set his pencil down.

" _The one sword my family couldn't replicate, and it's this one… and I've projected a corrupted version of it somehow…"_ Edge sighed again, closing the notebook, though he stopped when he the page fell to the last one he'd drawn on before skipping pages again… the one with all the penguins drawn on it… _"This is the page Illya said she saw me drawing on…"_

Edge just closed the notebook and sighed again, putting a hand on his forehead and hiding his eyes, and then he raised his hand.

"Fujimura-sensei, I'm not feeling too well today…" Edge murmured.

"Hmm? Alright then, go see the nurse at least. If you get sent home I'll send you something for today's assignment, alright?" Taiga stated, Edge nodding, gathering his things and leaving, though he wasn't really heading for the nurse's office, instead he simply went to leave all together, though he did send a text to his house so he could be picked up… but, as he left the grounds, Edge was a bit surprised to find Ruby and Sapphire outside.

"Oh ho! It's Edge! Shouldn't you be in class?" Ruby chirped, and Edge looked to the side.

"I don't really feel like being in class today." Edge replied, looking at his bandaged hand, "I just don't feel okay right now…"

"Hmm? And in what way? I doubt you're ill." Ruby chirped.

"Sister, consider what's happened recently… Edge-sama is likely experiencing things that are difficult for him." Sapphire added, Ruby humming.

"Maybe, but he's to…"

"I don't get it…" Edge spoek up, cutting Ruby off, the two sticks turning to him, "I've barely known them… so why is it I feel so bad after what happened the other night? It just... hurts… seeing Illya cry just hurt… and all Miyu did was make it worse… who cares if there was a screw up, the fact was we didn't die! That should be enough!"

Edge slammed his injured hand on the side of the wall, hissing as a jolt of pain shot up through it, his fingers clenching tighter as he bit his lip.

"I doubt that's the only reason you're so angry right now." Sapphire stated, Edge glancing at the Mystic Code, "It's likely you don't understand right now because you're not used to having friends, like Miyu-sama, but you're also a very emotional person… you're merely struggling with these new feelings is all."

"That's probably it! Edge, what does it feel like right now, specifically?" Ruby asked, bobbing about as normal, and Edge lowered his arm, sighing again, glancing up at the darkening grey of the sky.

"I… don't know… it just hurts when I think about it… like some kind of impulse is urging out and it just can't at the same time… GAAAGH! WHY THE HELL IS HAVING FRIENDS SO CONFUSING?!" Edge shouted and punched the wall, hiding as his arm got an even bigger jolt up it, and he held the limb as red began to stain the bandages around his knuckles as his arm shuddered while he grimaced, "I don't get it… I just don't get it… why did it hurt so much to see Illya cry? And why am I so mad at what Miyu did? Why do I even care?!"

"Wow he's really having a hard time with this isn't he?" Ruby whispered, turning with Sapphire.

"It seems he is… perhaps he needs time… or maybe it's because he's not used to caring for another?"

"That may be it…"

And as the two sticks spoke on, Edge, being able to hear all of what they were saying, was getting increasingly annoyed by the banter… and he snapped soon enough.

"I can hear both of you ya know?!" Edge snapped, but before he could go off any further, the familiar black car Albert had received pulled up, and Edge fell silent as the butler rolled down the window, "I have to go…"

The two Mystic Codes watched as Edge got into the car, the boy looking back out at them as the window rose, and Ruby sighed.

"Hagh… why does he have the be the troublesome type?" Ruby sighed, bowing down while shaking back and forth.

 _ **Coltheart Compound/Dojo**_

"RAAAAGGHH!"

Edge lunged forward as he thurst his blade down from the leap, Albert barely stepping aside as he parried with his daggers, shoving Edge aside and using both short blades to catch the edge of the silver sword Edge was using.

"Your movements are slow today Young Master… something is off." Albert murmured, Edge growling and swinging again after breaking the lock and ending up disarmed, wordlessly drawing out another Replica sword as he brought his hand up, sparks flying off of Alberts enchanted daggers as the weapons collided, _"Well, now he can draw them out without having to call their names. That's an improvement far above what he could manage before, and summoning in succession is no longer an issue."_

The clash of blades that was the daily training routine, but, Edge was on the losing end, Albert easily parrying his blows and knocking the boy aside with quick swipes and deflections, the floor scattered with quite a few of the Replicas, and Edge jumped back as he was disarmed again, panting while Albert looked no worse for wear in the slightest.

"Something is surely off. Your reactions are off, and you're not fighting with nearly as much precision as normal… something is bothering your Young Master… it's dulling your abilities." Albert hummed, and Edge growled, biting his thumb and drawing Bloody Rose's rune on the floor, slamming his palm on the rune and drawing the dark sword.

"There's nothing bothering me!" Edge snapped, his swing being stopped dead, and Albert slammed a shoulder into Edge's stomach, making the boy buckle over and fall to his knees.

"Young Master, I have raised you myself since the day your mother passed in place of your father… I know you better than your father does, and I can easily see when you're hiding something, as well as when something is on your mind. So right now, you have one of two choices… either talk with me about this, _or,_ if you choose not to, I can simply smack you around like a fly some more." Albert stated, leaning down as he spoke, Edge gripping the hilt of his sword as he grimaced, "Does this have to do with your new friends?"

"Yeah…" Edge nodded, hanging his head, "Something… happened, and now things are just… bad… and I don't know how to deal with it… I just feel confused about all of it right now… everything is jumbled and I just don't know what to do… one friend is down in the dumps because of an accident… and the other is holding it against her for no good reason even though what _could_ have happened _didn't_ happen."

"Hmm… sounds to me like one merely wants out of this issue, while the other has their own reasons for being too particular. I haven't met your friends, besides those two mage teenagers who spend too much time arguing, though I doubt they're really friends of yours…" Albert hummed.

"Yeah no shit." Edge scoffed, Albert shooting him a warning glare, "Sorry… so… what do I do? I have no idea if I can fix this or _what_ I can do… I mean, it's not any of my business so maybe I should just…"

 _THWAP!_

"OWWWWW! WHY ARE YOU STILL HITTING ME?!" Edge snapped as he grabbed his forehead, Albert sighing as he rose back up, rolling his fingers after having flicked Edge's head _hard._

"It's that kind of attitude that kept you from being able to make friends for so long. If you were there when it happened, then this problem _is_ your business, young master. As a friend, it's something of a responsibility to act as a mediator at times, and considering it seems you're caught in the middle of two polar opposites as I may guess from what I've seen during the times I've picked you up from school, you acting as a mediator may be needed." Albert went from scolding to advising within seconds of the topic, Edge sitting quietly as he stared at the floor.

"But _what_ do I do? I wasn't asking what kind of role I have, I could care less… I just want to know how I can help, that's all I need to know right now!" Edge bit, dismissing the sword in his hand, the scattered Replicas he was disarmed of dropping into forming Tears.

"Do what you think you should do… that's all I can say. This is your ordeal Young Master, not mine… it's up to you to decide in what way you solve this problem." Albert stated, leaving the boy with that, and Edge punched the floor, growling again, then letting out a breath and collecting himself, standing up, rushing out of the door, and Albert chuckled as the boy passed by him, "It seems he's made his choice…"

 _ **Illya's Neighborhood**_

Edge brought his running to a stop once he reached the Edelphelt mansion, though he turned to Illya's house after glancing at the mansion itself, letting out a breath as he rested for a moment, his hands balling closed for a moment, and with another breath he went to the door to knock, though he could already hear commotion from within, causing his hand to stop for a moment.

"I feel like I'm about to encounter something crazy…" Edge sighed, rolling his eyes and then knocking, the commotion ceasing, and after a moment of scuffling, the door was flung open, Sella at the doorway, and Edge could _just_ see the image of a red haired teenager twitching on the floor…

"Oh, you're Illya's friend right? Sorry if you heard anything, just a bit of uh… family business…" Sella murmured, and Edge merely nodded.

"I see… well, is Illya around? I… need to talk to her about something." Edge murmured, his face stoic, and Sella blinked.

"Well, she said she was taking a nap… but she might be awake now because of all the noise and such… let me go get her! You can sit down inside rather than wait out in this dreary weather." Sella stepped back, Edge nodding, and as he entered the living room, Leysritt waving at him, the red haired teenager got up, and Edge recognized the high school uniform the young man was wearing.

"Hmm? Huh, Leys, who is this?" The red head asked, standing up and popping his back.

"A friend of Illya. Edge, this is Shirou, Illya's older brother." Leysritt replied, Edge making a small wave.

"Hi there… I'm Edge Coltheart, nice to meet you." Edge introduced, bowing his head, Shirou humming.

"Nice too meet you too, I'm Shirou… and as Leys said, Illya's older brother…. and I didn't know Illya was friends with a middle schooler…" Shirou murmured, Edge chuckling.

"Actually… I'm Illya's age… we're in the same class." Edge stated, Shirou blinking, looking at Leysritt, who simply nodded as she munched on her snacks.

"You… you're _ten?"_ Shirou asked, Edge slowly nodding, "But… I mean, you look like you're…"

"Fourteen or fifteen, I know… I get that _a lot."_ Edge muttered, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm half German and I'm also American so… well… kind grew quickly, hehe…"

"Well you certainly look foreign, so I guessed as much… still… but, you're a friend of Illya's _and_ in her class…" Shirou murmured, and Edge felt a bit of a chill go down his spine, a bad feeling rising up his neck with said chill.

"Uh… Shirou-senpai?" Edge murmured, and then Shirou gleaned a very serious expression as his amber eyes bore into the boy.

"It's good to know Illya is making more friends, especially one who she can rely on. I think her having a guy friend is a good thing for her at this age. Just treat her well alright?" The tension was then immediately broken when Shirou returned to a friendly grin, though he blinked when he saw that Edge was now paler than he normally was… "Hmm? What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing! Ehehehe…" Edge chuckled, raising his hands a bit, though before anything else could happen, Sella returned from upstairs.

"Coltheart-san, Illya isn't going to leave her room, but, she did ask that I send you up there so you and her could talk. Is that fine with you?" Sella asked, Edge nodding.

"Yeah… this is actually something that needs to be private anyway… and don't get any ideas." Edge muttered the last part as he stepped by Sella who blinked as he went past… though then she realizes _why_ Edge had said what he did.

"I wasn't going to think anything like that! The two of you are only ten anyway, it's far too early for that kind of thing!" Sella shouted.

"He definitely knew she was going to say something like that." Leysritt hummed, Shirou nodding.

"I think he did…" Shirou agreed, and Sella turned to the two of them in shock, while above in the hallways, Edge sighed as he heard the chaos ensuing once more.

"What is with this house?" Edge sighed, looking forward and stopping when he got to Illya's door, letting out a breath and knocking lightly. "Illya? It's me…"

"Come on in." Illya's voice came through the door, Edge slowly opening it and peering in, seeing Illya hugging a pillow on her bed, Ruby flitting over as Edge stepped in, a quiet click sounding as the door shut.

"Ah hello Edge! What brings you here today hmm?" Ruby asked, Edge letting out a sigh.

"I kind of felt like I needed to drop by… so… Illya, you're going to stop, are you? Being a magical girl?" Edge asked, Illya nodding.

"It's what I chose to do. I'm just going to be a normal girl again. I don't want to go back to that scary world we were in. It's not for me." Illya stated, Edge sitting down on the floor, his expression remotely blank, "After what happened… I don't want to make a mistake like that again… I don't want to be part of that world anymore…"

"Frankly I'm surprised Illya made it this far with Rin-san and the others!" Ruby chimed in, and Edge could only nod.

"I can understand why… you're not a magus, and our world isn't one normal people can normally get involved on…" Edge stated, though in the back of his mind, he still remembered when Illya used the Archer card… that outpour of mana that was different than anything else… he knew Illya was definitely _not_ a normal child, just like him… but she was raised separately from the world he was raised in… there was no reason for her to be dragged into it. "But… I can't back out now… not when we're this close to finishing things…"

"But… why? Every time you fight, you get hurt so badly… when we fought Saber… you… you almost died…" Illya murmured, tears forming in her eyes, and Edge could simply stare at the floor, not being able to bring himself to look at the girl.

"I know, but I'm stronger than I was then… even if our last opponent is a Berserker class, I _have_ to try… we know how to use the Cards more effectively now… I think something like that can at least give us a chance at winning… and I _have_ to do something… I won't let Miyu fight alone… I don't think she can win by herself, not against a Berserker." Edge spoke, his hands tightening against each other. "I know the risk, and I'm willing to take it… I at least wanted to say that and ask what you're going to do Illya… but… we're _going_ to come back. I won't let anyone die."

"Honestly… I did this at first for fun and out of curiosity…" Illya admitted, looking away from Edge as he looked up, "But even then, all I did was risk my life in battle as a Magical Girl… I never had the reason or resolve to fight… I was just dragged into this… So I don't want to fight anymore."

Edge blinked as he saw Illya's hands bunch up on the pillow she was holding, and he started to move, but stopped before he stood up, planting his hands on his feet and staring at the carpet, and his eyes were then drawn towards the upright Archer card on Illya's desk, and he took in and released a slow breath.

"That's fine… you were dragged into this, whereas I got myself involved in this mess… I have to see this through, it's one of my principles… but… if you don't wish to fight Illya, then I won't object or argue with you… it's not my place to, even as your friend… I completely understand why you don't want to… but for me… well, it's just something I have to see through." Edge admitted, standing up, his eyes still on the Card.

Illya took a moment to look Edge over, and her thoughts lingered on the image she'd first had of him versus now… of the boy with white streaked black hair and tanned skin, versus the snowy, black streak haired and equally pale skinned boy that was sitting before her… the same person, but now looking so different… but still willing to finish the fight even after what had happened.

"Well… if you are going to keep fighting… here…" Illya then picked the Archer Card up and held it out to Edge, "Take it with you. I need to discuss things myself but… at least keep this one with you and use it if you have to."

Edge took the card and nodded, staring at the image on it before pocketing it.

"Then I'll think of it like a good luck charm. I said nobody is dying, so I'll keep to that and make sure we win… sure I bet Miyu is going to object but… I have to try at least…" Edge murmured, "So, whatever you decide to do Illya, just… do whatever you think is right… I'm… glad I can call you my first friend… if it's worth anything right now at least."

Edge gave a small, reassuring smile to Illya, the girl nodding, a small but sad smile of her own forming, and after Edge had left, Illya watched as he glanced back from the gate of the Edelphelt mansion, and there was this lingering feeling in the air now… one that something was looming over the magus down on the street… and whatever it was, things would not bode well…

 **A/N**

 **And next up we have the Berserker battle… and OH BOY do I have plans for that one.**


	9. Chapter 9

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 9: The Final Card**

 _ **Edelphelt Estate**_

Edge knocked on the door to the mansion after having passed through the gate, waiting for a short moment until Lluvia's butler answered, guiding the boy in and to the main dining room, where Lluvia was waiting.

"You took a while to get here..." Lluvia hummed, Edge sitting down.

"I made a stop at Illya's." Edge stated, Lluvia humming.

"So, is this about the cards? You don't have to go with us to get the last one." Lluvia stated, "Miyu wants to do this alone."

"I get that… but I just can't sit out. Besides..." Edge then pulled out the Archer card, "I promised Illya. I won't let Miyu fight Berserker alone… we have no idea who that Berserker will be and what they'll be able to do… I want to help."

"Illya gave you the Archer card?!" Lluvia blinked, Edge nodding, "Are you sure? You can just hand the card to us and…"

"Stop trying to convince me to back out Lluvia!" Edge snapped, "I made the choice to see this through to the end!"

"Yes but you're still injured from the Saber battle."

"I've recovered! I'm a fast healer!"

"But you don't have the power of one of the magical girls either. Even if you've recovered, the fact you're still healing doesn't change." Lluvia stated firmly, Edge growling, "I won't have the blood of the Coltheart heir on my hands."

"Oh, so Miyu's blood is fine then?! What if she dies while fighting Berserker?! Even if she says she can, there's not a chance in hell she can take a Berserker by herself with the power she has. I'm gonna take Miyu's stance for once and look at all of the what ifs in this scenario… I _will_ fight with all of you." Edge affirmed, ripping off the bandages on his head and letting them fall to the floor, "I'm not taking no for an answer Edelfelt."

Lluvia stayed still for a while, her eyes soldily stuck on the serious, determined expression of the boy in front of her.

" _He's someone who came so close to having his childhood taken away… his body should be smaller than it is, his face softer and not as defined… he's a child in the body of a person my age… and he does nothing but push himself to injury and harm… but… after hearing that… and that expression on his face… there's no point in me trying to push this further."_ Lluvia sighed, standing up, "Fine then… I'll tell Rin and Miyu that you're coming with us for the final battle. But, you can't get too reckless out there. After what happened to you in the last fight, try not to push yourself too hard."

"Huh, I didn't think you were the type to actually be concerned about others… guess that's a point that can be dropped." Edge mused, Lluvia slamming her hands on the table.

"What was that you little brat?!" Lluvia snapped, clencing her fist, Edge snickering with an amused smirk.

"Sorry, couldn't pass it up. Still, you and Rin are nice people, just temperamental is all. But… thank you. For letting me see this through." Edge bowed his head, picking up the Archer card, "Illya asked me to use this Card since she won't be there… so I will. I'll stick around here until you guys are ready."

"Well, we're going to be heading out tomorrow… you can stay here for the night if you want to." Lluvia regained her composure and let out a breath as she said that, Edge nodding.

"I can give my butler a call then. Let him know where I'm at." Edge stated.

"Good. Then go get some rest… and if you run into Miyu… well, try to take it easy on her at least." Lluvia asked, Edge nodding.

"I'll try… thank you again." Edge bowed his head and stood up, wandering into the halls, looking around at what adorned the walls and what not… and he was actually reminded of his home back in America… though the Coltheart mansion was bigger…

And that was when he passed Miyu, and the two stopped in place, neither turning around.

"What are you doing here?" Miyu demanded, Edge sticking his hands in his pockets.

"I'm staying the night. I'm going to the final battle tomorrow." Edge responded, leaning on the wall, and Miyu turned, her expression stoic as ever.

"You don't have to do that. I can handle things on my own." Miyu firmly stated, Edge clicking his tongue.

"Not buying it."

"It's pointless for you to fight anymore."

"I got myself into this mess, and I intend to see it through."

"Even after what happened to you in the last battle?!" Miyu actively snapped when thinking about it, Edge's look growing somber.

"Yes, even after what happened." Edge nodded, Miyu letting out a breath.

"I saw everything that happened… even when you… changed… whatever it was, you were acting differently… you seriously want to go and fight again after something like that happened?" Miyu inquired, Edge looking at his right hand.

"I do… and look, you guys are down a person with Illya gone, so I'm here to fill in the empty space… besides, I told Illya I'd see this through, and I don't go back on a promise once I make it." Edge then showed the Archer card, Miyu blinking in a bit of surprise, Edge then pocketing it and turning around. "Miyu, please, don't try to bear this on your own… you have friends in me and Illya… you don't have to fight by yourself."

Miyu just turned around and walked off, Edge giving a small sigh, glancing back at the girl as she soon vanished around the corner.

"Why are you trying so hard to push everyone away right now?"

 _ **The next day/Mirror World**_

The space this time was small, little more than one of the skyscrapers in the city, and even the space above the entering group wasn't that large, enough to where the ceiling of the Mirror World was clear to see, the glow of the transport magic circle dying down.

"Jump complete." Sapphire confirmed, everyone looking around.

"It's cramped… looks like you were right Edge." Rin hummed, Edge simply nodding.

"That proves that the distortions are decreasing." Lluvia added, "Once we retrieve this card, it's likely that..."

Lluvia was interrupted when a crash sounded in the air, the group turning towards the source to find themselves faced with a behemoth of a foe, barely recognizable as human in shape and with near pitch black skin and glaring red eyes, teeth bared in a savage snarl as the behemoth turned to the four who dared enter it's realm, releasing a roar that reverberated through the air.

"What is that?!" Rin gasped.

"You're kidding me..." Lluvia murmured.

" _That's_ the Berserker we have to fight?!" Edge yelped, Berserker leaping from his perch and crashing down in front of the group, already trying to smash them to bloody pulps, Rin and Lluvia dodging out of the way while Edge jumped back, Miyu however, running in.

"Shoot!" Miyu yelled, the blast rushing towards Berserker and nailing the spirit in the face… but not a scratch was seen, and his eyes turned towards the girl, a low rumble leaving the spirit's throat before he pushed forward, Miyu dodging the smashing punches as the Spirit kept trying to land a blow on her, Rin and Lluvia throwing gems in to the fray, one causing fire to engulf Berserker, and another drawing in rubble, but that did little more than anger the Spirit all the more.

"Man, talk about a monster..." Edge growled, biting his thumb and drawing out Blood Rose, stabbing the pointed end of it's grip into his left forearm, the blade gaining a red glow as Edge held it firmly.

"What unbelievable strength..." Miyu murmured.

"You must avoid a direct hit at all costs." Sapphire informed, Miyu dodging another punch, "MY protective barrier can't stand up to a force like that."

"Easy for you to say..." Miyu murmured, Edge shooting past and ducking the next punch, swiping his sword up, merely slicing Berserker's forearm even with the after effect of the slash widening the cut, the boy skidding underneath the Spirit as Miyu jumped up and pushed off above, the two stopping near each other.

"Damn… that guy has thick skin… even in Cry Camellia mode, Bloody Rose barely cut through..." Edge growled.

"The field is too small." Miyu muttered, leveling Sapphire.

"It's a wonder he can rush like that in a small space." Lluvia hissed.

"Can we _not_ waste time talking?!" Edge snapped.

"Can't you at least slow him down?" Rin shouted.

"That's impossible." Sapphire spoke, "There's no sign that a mana blast has any effect. It's as if we didn't reach his body."

"It isn't magic resistance… it's something at a higher level." Miyu murmured.

"Probably his Noble Phantasm, whatever the hell it is… damn… if only we could guess who the hell this Spirit is like with Saber… but there's no way to identify him!" Edge growled, and then he snapped back to remembering he had the Archer card with him, and he pulled it out of his pocket, "Maybe we need another Heroic Spirit's power..."

"What are you thinking of doing?! That card is useless as an Include, trust us, we tried it!" Rin snapped.

"Maybe… but… what Illya did..." Edge murmured, dismissing Bloody Rose, holding the card up in his hand, closing his eyes, _"Remember what it was Illya said… the word she had to use to draw out this card's power… I know I heard it… this card in my hand right now… she gave it to me to fight with..."_

As Edge held the card, a magic circle appeared under him, the other three blinking in surprise, and then, his eyes snapped open before he tossed the card above him.

"INSTALL!" Edge yelled, red light crashing down over him, and Berserker began to charge, Miyu, Rin, and Lluvia getting ready, though as the Spirit roared and pulled back a fist, a keen sounded and then something slammed the enraged Spirit in the face, actually forcing him back, the other three turning back to Edge, the light dying down around him and showing his form as he lowered a black bow…

Edge's version of the Install had a fuller version of the black outfit from Illya's, the black and silver shirt completely covering his torso along with full pants and boots, and over that was a red jacket that ended in the same white gems at his hands, but a full jacket rather than a short coat, and at his waist was a shorter version of the waist cape Illya had, but tapering off to his left side, though Edge's hair remained untouched, and the bow in his hands vanished in blue light.

"Did he just..." Rin gasped.

"What is that form?!" Lluvia's eyes were wide, and Miyu blinked.

"He used it..." Miyu gasped, Edge forming the black and white short swords she recognized from before, spinning them around and into reverse grips.

"Bring it Berserker." Edge murmured, bursting forward fast enough to cause a gust of wind behind him, jumping over the incoming fist from Berserker and rolling in the air to avoid another one, stepping off of the Spirit's arm and flipping his swords around, raking them across Bersker's face and stepping to the ground before shooting back in and slicing at his ankles, not even missing a beat as he dodged stomps and punches, blocking one and losing his swords, though he merely twirled aside and reformed the bow, jumping and forming a black sword in his right hand, the blade reforming instantly into an arrow like shape, Edge nearly upside down in the air as he took aim and drew the arrow, Berserker roaring as he leaped at him.

" **Broken Phantasm… Hrunting!"**

The arrow was released with all the force of a bullet behind it as it glowed red, nailing Berserker dead in the head before exploding in a large burst, the Spirit crashing to the ground like a rock, leaving a crater where the body landed, Edge landing on the railing of the roof, looking at the downed spirit, panting a bit, looking at his right hand again.

"This… is the power of a Heroic Spirit..." Edge murmured, the other three stuck in shock as they looked at Edge.

"No way… that's what a Card can do… he became a Heroic Spirit..." Rin blinked.

"How? I thought that..." Lluvia gasped, and Sapphire spoke up.

"Part of Edge's existence has been replaced with that of a Heroic Spirit. The Card tapped into the Throne of Heroes and merged Edge's existence with that of the Heroic Spirit the card corresponds to. So in a sense, Edge has become a Heroic Spirit, his own existance being overwritten by the Spirit's." Miyu explained, much to the surprise of Rin, Luvia, and Sapphire, though the moment didn't last long, as smoke began rising from Berserker, and to the surprise of everyone there, the Spirit rose back up, snarling in rage before roaring, all signs of damage from before completely gone.

"What's with him? Edge blew off his head with that attack..." Rin gasped.

"Maybe it wasn't enough." Lluvia growled, and Miyu narrowed her eyes, pulling out the Lancer card and Including it, rushing forward with the spear, aiming right for Berserker's heart and running him through, the Noble Phantasm passing right through Berserker's chest, blood spurting from the wound as Berserker fell to a knee, though before any kind of relief could be had, Berserker threw Miyu off, the girl crashing into a wall hard enough to cough up blood, Rin and Lluvia rushing to her, Edge leaping over, Lluvia sitting Miyu up.

"Miyu, are you okay?" Lluvia asked, Miyu nodding.

"I'm fine." Miyu wiped off her lip, standing again.

"Edge blasted off his head, and Miyu pierced his heart for sure, but he just gets back up… there's only one possibility here… Resurrection." Rin murmured, and Edge nodded.

"Has to be… guess his Noble Phantasm allows him to resurrect… but, there has to be a limit, something like that can only have a finite number of uses before it runs out… and so far, we've killed him twice… something is telling me we can't kill him the same way more than once though." Edge muttered, reforming the black and white swords.

"How did you know that?!" Lluvia asked.

"I… I don't know… just a feeling… the Spirit I'm linked with right now… something about this one is different… like I know this one… but. And whatever I'm seeing from this Spirit, this situation, this fight… it feels familiar… but not to me..." Edge muttered, "Rin, Lluvia, stand back, if this guy is impervious to magic, then you two won't be able to scratch him."

Rin growled and then kicked open a nearby door.

"We _all_ have to run! If he can resurrect, then we have no chance of beating him, even if it's a limited number of times!" Rin shouted, Edge gritting his teeth.

"Go! I can cover you guys at least for a while! I can find a Tear to escape from on my own! Take Miyu and get out of here!" Edge snapped, Lluvia picking up Miyu, the two girls turning to Edge.

"Are you going to be fine?" Lluvia asked, and Edge smirked.

"I think I'm creative enough to find a few more ways to kill him. I have this Spirit's power _and_ my Replica Phantasms, so I have plenty of options." Edge stated, readying the swords, "Now go!"

Rin and Lluvia nodded, dashing into the building, Edge shutting the door and turning back to Berserker as the Spirit snarled while turning to him.

"Something tells me a part of you knows who this Spirit is..." Edge murmured, "Just a nameless Spirit who became a Hero when he shouldn't have… and I'm gonna use his power to kill you as many times over as I can."

Berserker roared and charged, Edge dashing forward and ducking a punch that left a solid crater in the roof, rolling under Berserker and stabbing his swords into the Spirit's Achilles tendons, barely flipping past an arm bar that would have sent hum flying had it connected, and he formed a Tear as he landed, drawing out Caladbolg and shooting forward as the blade glowing, raking it across Berserker's side before spinning out if the way, practically dancing past the rain of powerful punches Berserker threw out him, drawing out other Replicas or projecting the swords the Spirit he was letting him use to damage the beast.

" _I may not have the raw power this guy has, but this Archer I'm linked with is fast, and through it, I have an armory of swords at my disposal, along with the Lorelei Vault! I just have to keep moving and make sure he can't touch me!"_

Edge dodged another punch, moving to where he could get close, rearing Caldbolg back and stabbing it into Berserker, the blade glowing as Edge sent power through it.

"CALADBOLG!" Edge roared the swords name, rainbow colored light bursting from the blade as he raked it up, Berserker roaring as he was nearly severed in to from the blow, falling back dead once more, though getting up in an instant, all the angrier, shooting forward, Edge going to block with one of his Repica shields and his sword, Berserker's fist smashing down and breaking both items in twain, sending Edge down through the roof and through a few more floors until he crashed to a stop, though Edge wasn't slowed down enough, getting up and dodging as Berserker crashed down after him.

Edge skid to a stop, wiping blood of his mouth as Berserker turned towards him again, barely fitting into the space they were in, and Edge stood up, Projecting two random swords into his hands, Berserker charging once more, the massive Spirit crashing through anything in his way, Edge dodging and using the environment to vault around, dashing at Berserker and driving his swords into the behemoth a he avoided being knocked around, and after he managed to land another killing blow, he dashed back to a stair well and shot up, aiming to make it back to the roof, and as he did, just as he was getting out, Berserker crashed through behind him, Edge forming two swords to block as he turned, the blow connecting and sending him flying, Edge crashing into a wall and hitting the ground heavily, panting as he stood up, blood running from his mouth.

"Damn… that was one hit… and it hurt that much… if I wasn't in this state… it wouldn't have ended well..." Edge muttered, wiping off his chin again, Berserker stalking towards him, though as the behemoth drew closer, a silver sword burst from his chest, and Edge blinked to see who it was after Berserker fell to the ground as another of his lives was burned out, that being Miyu, garbed in blue and holding a silver and gold Excalibur, no doubt the true weapon.

"That's one more." Miyu murmured, dashing over to Edge and barring her sword as Berserker rose up and swiped at her, Edge blinking.

"What are you still doing here? Where's Rin and Lluvia?!" Edge snapped.

"I sent them back. I chose to fight too. I'm using the Saber Card right now. How many more times have you killed him?" Miyu asked, Edge facing Bersker.

"Twice, once with Caladbolg and another by running his heart through with a couple dozen swords." Edge stated.

"And I just killed him with a stab… so we have a few options eliminated. How injured are you?" Miyu turned to Edge, who clicked his tongue.

"I'm good. I can keep going." Edge put a hand at his neck as he bent it, a crack sounding as he popped it.

"Alright. We just need to switch out in close range, and since you're using an Archer, you should have plenty of ranged options." Miyu stated, Edge nodding.

"Turning swords into arrows… I'm gonna have to remember that trick, it's pretty useful when you're using Projection." Edge chuckled, forming the bow again, projected a Caladbolg and altering it, drawing it back, "Just give me an opening."

"Easy." Miyu nodded and burst forward, parrying Bersker's punches with Excalibur and dodging incoming blows or outright blocking them, the sword in her hands holding up without a scratch to Berserker's blows, Edge following the two with his eyes on Berserker as he kept his aim steady.

" _Miyu won't be able to kill him with a stab again… her blade will just bounce off… the only reason I did so more than once was because it was a different weapon I was using…"_ Edge thought, "Aim for his head Miyu! Your sword won't be able to pierce his chest again!"

"Got it!" Miyu nodded, fucking a punch and severing Berserker's forearm, lunging forward and driving her sword through his forehead, Berserker sputtering as Miyu ripped the sword out, skidding back, and Edge aimed for the wound as Berserker stepped forward.

" **Broken Phantasm. Caladbolg!"** Edge fired the sword arrow right into Berserker's wound, the shot exploding in gleaming rainbow light, Berserker's head gone as the body fell.

"That should be us a moment to rest." Edge sighed, clenching his teeth as he saw black energy drifting off his arm, "This again?!"

"M-Miyu-sama?!" Sappire's voice rang out, and Miyu looked at her sword.

"Sapphire? So even in this form, you can still talk." Miyu hummed.

"This form… this power… did you do what Edge did?!" Sapphire yelped, Miyu nodding.

"Yes, I did… a pseudo summoning to use the power of the Card." Miyu explained, Berserker starting to rise back up, his arm and head regenerating.

"Miyu, use your Noble Phantasm! A blast from Excalibur should have enough power to take out more than one life!" Edge shouted, firing a series of arrows, Berserker swatting them aside with a roar as he shot up, Edge jumping back as Berserker smashed down where he was, Miyu lifting the sword as she began to ready the attack, her sword glowing.

"I won't back down… I won't retreat..." Miyu murmured, her gaze locked on Berserker as Edge kept him in place by peppering the Behemoth with sword arrows, and even ones he was pulling out of Tears, "Illya doesn't want to fight anymore… and Edge is fighting this hard… they were the first people to call me their friend… that's why…. EXCALIBUR!"

Edge shot back as the golden blast rushed forward, Berserker turning to be faced by the blast slamming him straight on, the power of the blast bursting right past the end of the closed space, Edge landing, falling to a knee as black mist drifted off of him, golden light filling the area until the blast died down, Miyu planting her sword in the ground as she panted, a gouge in the roof from the blast.

"Was that… enough?" Edge panted, an eye closed as he looked at the smoke that was where Berserker had been.

"It… should have been." Miyu leaned on her sword, breathing just as heavily as Edge was, and then she gasped, reeling back, her current form reverting, Sapphire clattering onto the ground along with the Saber card.

"She's out of mana?" Sapphire murmured, floating upright, "Miyu-sama?!"

"Come back… Sapphire… I need more mana… right now..." Miyu panted, and Edge had a hand on his head as the black mist kept coming off of him.

"Ggh… what the hell?! I know I'm at my limit but… what the hell is going on?! This isn't what… grk… what normally happens..." Edge muttered, an eye shut tightly, and then, to the shock of him, Miyu, and Sapphire, Berserker rose up again, snarling at the two as smoke drifting off of his reforming skin, glowing an evil red as his eyes glared at the two. "No way… he… survived that?!"

"No… not here..." Miyu's eyes were wide as Berserker began to stalk towards her, Sapphire yelling as she went to her, but Berserker plucked the Kaleidostick right out of the air.

"MIYU!" Edge snapped forward and shot in between Miyu and Berserker as the behemoth raised his fist, Miyu blinking as things seemed to slow down in the next moment, Edge bearing his own snarl as he stopped in front of Miyu, Berserker's fist sailing down and connecting dead on with the boy, sending him flying back and slamming him into the wall of the dimension _hard,_ Edge falling to the ground without a sound, his form reverting and the Archer card landing beside him, Miyu's eyes going wider than they were before.

"EDGE!" Miyu screamed, Berserker readying another blow after leaping to the downed boy…

And that was when black prana burst form Edge's body, the sound of shattering glass filling the air as the glowing seals that remained on him shattered one by one, leaving only the dark seal that was pouring out the black prana… and then that one also shattered, the burst of prana enough to blow Berserker back, a swirl of power around Edge now.

"What's going on… what's happening?! This is different than before!" Miyu gasped, Sapphire in shock.

"This is… this is a Stage 2 Carnage Trance… the Chaos Seal has broken..." Sapphire gasped, Miyu blinking.

"What?! What does that mean!?" Miyu yelled.

"Edge's bloodline is a cursed one… they created magic that tapped into the boundaries of the world, and the price they paid was an eternal curse… for tapping into the magic of the boundary with mortal bodies, the bloodline was cursed with the Carnage Trance… Stage 2 Carnage Trance… not a single Coltheart who has entered it has ever survived..." Sapphire informed, Miyu's eyes wide.

"What?! So… are you saying… is Edge going to die?!" Miyu shouted, Edge already rising once more, his eyes glowing red, the energy drifting off them as he stood, the black mist swirling around him and coalescing around his arm… and with a swipe, he'd formed the blackened Excalibur from before, the mist bursting away and leaving him standing in a crater, a black aura around his body, two wings of black prana flowing from his back, wavering unstably… and then he shot forward at Berserker again…

 _ **To be continued…**_

 **A/N**

 **Well talk about intense… not much to say here. Hehehe, see you guys next chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 10: End of a Battle**

Miyu could only watch as Edge fought Berserker like he himself had become the same Servant Class, Edge's aura surging as he attack Berserker again and again, taking blows that, whle they sent him flying, didn't so much as make the boy _flinch_ before he shot back in… Miyu had no idea how to react with anything but terror at the fact Sapphire had said Edge had almost no chance of surviving the state he was in.

"Why… why does this have to be happening… why does he have to die because of something he's not responsible for? Sapphire, can't we stop this?!" Miyu shouted.

"W-we can't… I don't know if there even _is_ a way to stop Edge-sama as he is now." Sapphire murmured, glancing back to how Edge was now opening tears… and letting Replicas fly from the tears to run Berserker through before retrieving them and slashing at him again, sending out blasts from his dark sword to attack from a distance, Berserker blocking the blast but losing his hands for it, Edge shooting forward as black prana burst along the sword, raking it upwards and bisecting Berserker while adding on a pillar of the prana bursting up as it followed the slash, Berserker roaring before being sent flying back, landing dead on the ground.

"He's fighting like a monster…" Miyu murmured, watching as Edge merely stood as Berserker rose once more, wordlessly flipping his sword around and using it to block Berserker's fist, a burst of pressure surging through the air at the collision, the sword shattering before Edge reformed it in his left hand and slashed Bersker's chest wide open, switching hands again and stabbing the sword into the raging Spirit, holding his stance even as Berserker slumped over.

"Win… win… I have to win…" Edge muttered in a deadpan stupor, "I can't lose… win… win… kill… anything that stands before me… kill… kill it all…"

The boy then ripped the dark sword free of Berserker and shot back as the enraging Spirit tried to smash him with both fists, the battle between the two continuing to rage on even as they ended up diving into the hole made earlier, Miyu rushing to the edge.

"Miyu-sama wait!" Sapphire shot in front of Miyu, blocking the path. "It's too dangerous to even get close to them!"

"I can't let this go on! I can't let Edge die!" Miyu snapped, Sapphire letting out a small hiss.

"I know… but we can't stop it… he'll be lucky to even be able to physically move if he survives… but the odds of Edge-sama surviving Stage 2 are beyond even nil…" Sapphire muttered, turning back to the ongoing fight below, Edge and Berserker locking and exchanging blows, Berserker knocking Edge up through the hole, the tranced boy simply flipping and pushing off the ceiling of the dimension and back down, energy bursting from his sword as he drove it into Berserker's head and let it loose, jumping back to the edge of the hole as Berserker's half vaporized body fell.

"That should keep him down for a while…" Miyu murmured, glancing at Edge, stuck staring at how he coldly glanced at her, not a semblance of human feeling in his face as his blackened mana flowed from his body, the boy's body covered in dark bruises and still bleeding from where his last few seals had broken, but it was like the pain didn't matter, like he wasn't feeling one bit of it at all.

Edge then glanced down at the slowly regenerating Berserker, but as he moved to jump back down, his movement stopped, and he ended up slamming a hand over his face.

"What's… happening… I can't think… I only… want to… win… win… win win win… I have to beat him!" Edge then shook his head, stepping back a bit and yelling, another burst of prana blasting from him and blowing Miyu back, "No! I have to… stop… not… like this…"

Berserker leapt back up and crashed, Edge rolling out of the way, continuing with his ferocious attacks against Berserker, but Miyu could see resistance, like he was trying to fight back against the Trance itself, being sent reeling back by a heavy blow and dodging, Edge's movements starting to waver, and his expression changed from neutral into a grimace, the red light at his eyes flickering as the aura around him slowly started to waver as well.

"Sapphire… what… what's happening?" Miyu asked, Sapphire flitting back to her.

"I… I don't know… I don't know if this is Edge-sama reaching his limit or something else… but something is going on right now…" Sapphire murmured.

" _Why does it feel like I'm watching myself fight? I need to stop… whatever is going on… I need to stop, to finish this fight myself!"_ Edge was starting to feel his senses return as he moved against Berserker, beginning to feel throbbing pain pulse through his limbs and body, but despite it, he felt himself moving and reacting without a thought as he spun past Berserker's punches and kicks, skidding around as he slashed and stabbed at the Spirit, and slowly, Edge began to feel a sense of control, _"I want to win on my own… by myself with my power… I won't let this take control… whatever the hell this is… won't beat me!"_

Edge ducked a blow from Berserker and glanced over, spotting Miyu and Sapphire watching, looking back at Berserker, and, on reaction bringing up his sword to block, this time, the blade holding steady against Berserker's fist without shuddering or cracking once, Edge growling as he was forced to his knees and then sent flying back, crashing right into the wall of the dimension again, using the sword in his hands to steady himself as he got to a knee, then coughing blood up on the ground, and Edge saw his vision waver as Berserker began to stalk towards him, and he blinked when he saw a faint white flit through the black, the spot landing on his hand and staying there.

" _White… black… I need to get past the black… that white I'm seeing…"_ Edge then gripped his sword again, shooting forward, and to Miyu and Sapphire's surprise, the prana around him began to surge as it's color changed, shifting from abyssal black to flickering white, the lines on the dark Excalbur turning blue as he ducked, and with a burst of white following it, Berserker now had a silver blade thrust through his chest, Edge's aura lowering down to little more than a white glow as he pulled the sword out while Berserker collapsed, the sword now the same gleaming silver and gold the Excalibur Miyu had used was, but with blue lines running along the blade itself, Edge panting as he fell to his knees.

"No way… he's… alive…" Sapphire murmured, and then she gasped as Berserker began to rise again.

"EDGE MOVE!" Miyu shouted, Edge looking behind him as Berserker rose up, growling with ever intensified rage as the behemoth raised his fist, but, from seemingly nowhere, a small shape appeared and slashed Berserker clean in half, darting by and getting Edge out of the way, Edge opening his eyes as he hit the ground again, both him and Miyu going wide eyed in surprise to see Illya standing in front of them.

"Illya…" Miyu murmured, Edge still in a state of shock as he stared at the girl.

"Sorry I'm late, Miyu, Edge." Illya spoke.

"Why…" Miyu murmured, Edge getting back up to a knee, gripping his sword for support again.

"To me, the two of you are…" Illya stood up looking at the other two, "Very important friends!"

"Illya…" Edge managed to get out, Illya then turning to the sides.

"Rin-san, Lluvia-san!" Illya shouted, the two teenagers jumping from their perch and throwing crystals to get Berserker to move.

" _ **Gleipnir!"**_ Both girls shouted, magical bindings lashing out and wrapping around Berserker, lashing his limbs and torso to drag him to the ground, a prism barrier then forming around the behemoth.

"As expected, ten count thaumaturgy is strong enough to effect even him." Llvuia observed, Rin nodding.

And back with the kids, Miyu had Sapphire back in her hands, still looking at Illya as she and Edge stood, though Edge was still shaky as he leaned on the projected Excalibur.

"What are you doing here?" Miyu asked, Edge just keeping silent.

"I'm sorry." Illya replied, "I was an idiot. I just went with the flow, fighting without any resolve. I thought this wasn't my problem, that it wasn't real… But… when I realized it was real, that it was dangerous, I became frightened by it all…. But, the truly foolish thing, was running away without considering my friends' feelings. Miyu, you were trying so hard to carry my share as well as your own, and Edge, even if you didn't have a reason to help us, you fought harder than us… so, I'm very sorry!"

Illya turned to her friends and took a bow, Edge and Miyu glancing at one another and then back at Illya.

"It may be too late, but I want to fight with you again." Illya stated, standing straight, "Because I don't want my friends to face danger all alone!"

Miyu stood still in surprise for a second, then gleaning, to Edge's surprise, a small smile of gratitude, and she nodded.

"Thank you." Miyu nodded, "I want to fight alongside you too. Together, with my friends."

Edge blinked when Miyu looked between Illya _and_ him, and then the boy cracked a small grin, then reaching into his pocket and pulling out the Archer card, handing it back to Illya.

"I should give this back… it was a great help Illya!" Edge chuckled, back to holding his right arm, and Illya nodding.

"Then let's go, Miyu, Edge." Illya nodded, taking the card and slipping it into her card holder, and meanwhile, Rin and Lluvia were watching with their own grins on.

"Well, looks like we've done our part." Rin hummed.

"Many things have transpired. But now, they've settled where they belong." Lluvia added, giving a nod, Rin chuckling.

"Heh, I wasn't ever worried about them, but… The real problem is that we used too many gems!" Rin suddenly changed the subject as her expression changed to outright panicked.

"Good grief, you insist on whining about that even now?" Lluvia sighed, shaking her head, "This is the problem with commoners!"

"Shut up new money!" Rin snapped, but everyone turned when they heard Berserker growling as he struggled against his restraints.

"What is he?!" Lluvia growled.

"He's trying to tear off restraints capable of binding even magical beasts?" Rin murmured, "Could this be any further from our plan?!"

"The issue is that this Spirit isn't a magical beast!" Edge stated as he, Illya, and Miyu ran over to the other two, "I figured it out when I fought him earlier, the Spirit's idenitity. He's Heracles, from Greek mythos."

"Heracles?!" Rin and Lluvia yelped, Edge nodding.

"Yeah… it started clicking after a while, I don't know why, but his resurrections just made me think, what kind of Heroic Spirit would have a Noble Phantasm that allows him to return to life, even if a finite number of times? And then it clicked… Heracles and his Twelve Labors… he has one life for each Labor and then his true life… but, I think it's possible for us to burn away however many he has left." Edge explained, his grip on the sword in his hand tightening a bit.

"And that's why we made a plan!" Illya stated, the two teens raising their brows, then listening to the explanation, yelping once the three finished.

"A-Are you serious, Miyu?" Lluvia murmured, Miyu nodding her confirmation, all three kids looking at each other and nodding again before returning their determined faces to the older teenagers.

"We have to try." Rin stated.

"This is a dangerous gamble." Lluvia added.

"Isn't every plan?" Edge chuckled.

"Edge, I think you should sit this one out though." Miyu added.

"EH?!" Edge yelped, looking taken aback.

"You're wounded, and after you were… in that state, it would be dangerous for you." Miyu added, and Edge shook his head, looking at both Miyu and Illya.

"I'll be fine... my arms and legs ache, and my body feels like it'll collapse... but right now, I can't just fall to my ass while you finish this like last time... I'm gonna see this fight through to the end with the both of you, and I'm not taking no for an answer." Edge stated, moving a hand under his shirt, getting some of his blood on his finger, drawing out Bloody Rose's sigil and drawing it, gripping both swords tightly, the fake Excalibur in his right hand and Bloody Rose in his left.

"Very well." Rin nodded, everyone turning to the struggling Berserker, "Once the barrier breaks, we make our move!"

Everyone stood firm as Berserker began breaking free of his bonds, and soon enough, he'd broken free with a roar, everyone dashing out of the way as Berserker slammed the floor hard enough to break it apart, Illya dashing forward and letting a few magic blasts, jumping up and using more to slam Berserker as he reeled back, the Spirit roaring and throwing a fist forward to retaliate, Rin and Lluvia dashing in and using their gems to divert the fist and blind Berserker, Illya hitting the ground and readying a swing, Edge dashing in and jabbing Bloody Rose into Berserker's chest, smirking as he landed and shot back away as Illya nodded to him, focusing her eyes on the point Edge had left her with Bloody Rose.

"Maximum output!" Illya shouted, an orb of light forming at Ruby's tip, "Full power, full open! FIRE!"

The blast slammed right into the wound the fading Bloody Rose left, blasting Berserker back to the other end of the roof and right into the boundary field, right where Miyu was waiting with Gae Bolg at the ready, leaping up and spinning the spear.

"Gae… Bolg!" Miyu shouted, the spear shooting forward like a ballista shot and blasting through Berserker, the body landing and an explosion following, Miyu standing amid the smoke, Illya landing near her and Edge rushing over with a renewed Bloody Rose back in his off hand.

"Did the plan work?" Illya asked.

"That probably got off one more of his lives… Miyu stabbed him with the spear, but actually using the Noble Phantasm's power counts as another method, so I bet it killed him at least one time." Edge stated, "But let's hope I'm wrong…"

Rin and Lluvia approached then, and everyone could hear Berserker growling once more, two boulders flying from the smoke, Rin and Lluvia stopping them with gems, the air buffeting from the blasts, Illya and Miyu going to the two teens, and Edge growled as Berserker stalked out of the flames, still black as night and covered in red.

"Damn… I don't remember how many times we've killed him, so we don't know how many times the bastard has left." Edge growled.

"This is bad… I'm out of ammo." Rin muttered.

"As am I." Lluvia grumbled, and Illya then reached for the Archer card, hesitating as she remembered what happened before during the Saber battle, and Miyu stepped forward, drawing a card.

"I'll handle this." Miyu stated, Edge looking back at her. "Illya, cover me."

Illya looked up at Miyu in surprise, then shaking her head.

"No, it's okay." Illya stood, Edge looking square the two girls as they stood side by side, "Thanks to you, I think I understand a little better now…" and then Ruby began glowing, "It you abandon your friends, you can't move forward!"

"I think I understand as well." Miyu nodded, looking forward to Berserker, Sapphire glowing as well, "Together, we can accomplish things we couldn't alone."

The two girls then crossed the Kaleidosticks, and Edge raised an arm to cover his eyes as bright light shone around them.

"I promise… I'll never run and abandon my friends again." Illya spoke, Miyu, again, nodding to her words.

"I believe in you… I believe in Illya, and I believe in Edge… my precious friends." Miyu added, and Edge cracked a small grin, Bloody Rose fading out of his left hand, and he blinked when the Saber card shone between the sticks.

" _ **Parralel Include!"**_

The space around everyone seemed to change with that, one Edge couldn't help but gasp at, seeing the ground change to water reflecting a clear blue, white cloud filled sky, and he stepped forward as, above Illya and Miyu, appeared an Excalibur that split into seven as a magic circle formed above them, both girl's gaining Excaliburs of their own, and Edge stepped between them, his own sword starting to glow with blue and white light.

"Right… I get it too… being alone is nothing short of torture, it's no way to live… so, let's move forward… all three of us, all together!" Edge raised his blade as Illya and Miyu did, the girls nodding along with him, the nine swords of the girls shining as Berserker charged, then each one aiming at Berserker, Edge swinging his blade down in synch with them, the ten blasts bursting forward and swirling together into one singular surge of energy that collided right into Berserker, the behemoth letting out a roar as the blast engulfed him and rose forward, completely destroying the Spirit and shattering the roof of the dimension, golden light filling the space and raining down, Edge grabbing the last card as it fell between the three kids, all three smiling to each other as the dimension around them shattered away with the rising of the morning sun…

XXXXX

Edge let out a small chuckle as he fell back onto the roof, an eye closed as he stared at the morning sky.

"Ah man, I can't even move right now, but I feel better than I have in a long time! Hahahha… I know for a fact I'm not supposed to feel like this after a fight like that." Edge laughed, and then his face flushed a bit when Illya gently placed his head in her lap, and the _"kachunk"_ of Ruby adding a couple points to her counter sounded.

"Yeah, maybe not." Illya laughed, "Hehe, your hair is all white now, just like mine."

"It is eh? Well, I can certainly tell that the last of my seals shattered, so I guess there's that." Edge murmured, managing to glance at Rin and Lluvia, the two looking at all of the cards, finally gathered together.

"Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Saber, Assassin, and Berserker." Rin counted off, "We retrieved all of the Cards. The mission is complete!"

"Thank goodness!" Illya chuckled, Edge putting up a fist.

"Ei ei oh! I'm too tired to ever cheer properly, geez…" Edge sighed, letting his arm fall back down, Ruby patting him on the head.

"Now, let's fire off a big blast to celebrate!" Ruby cheered, Illya yelping.

"Wait, what are you planning?!" Illya gasped, Edge blinking in response.

"Doing that at this hour will bother the neighbors." Miyu stated, Edge blinking again.

"That's your main concern?" Edge murmured.

"Miyu-sama, you're missing the point a bit." Sapphire bluntly stated, Edge nodding to that point.

"Illya…"

"Miyu…"

"And, Edge."

The three kids turned to Rin and Lluvia as they spoke up.

"I know we're the ones who involved you in all of this, but I'm glad you were there." Rin looked between all three, Edge resisting the urge to make some kind of snarky comment that would not have been in good taste.

"Alone, we probably wouldn't have been able to win." Lluvia admitted, to the surprise of the three kids, and Rin nodded, actually giving an honest smile to the three younger ones.

"Thank you for fighting to the end." Rin nodded her head, Lluvia doing the same.

"I'd like to share my appreciation as well." Lluvia stated, the three kids simply returning the smile.

"Now, I'll take these Cards back to London-" Rin was cut off by Lluvia swiping the cards right out of her hand… and then she heard the helicopter, followed by Lluvia's signature laugh.

"You lowered your guard right at the very end! Do not worry, I shall personally deliver these Cards to the Great Father!" Lluvia declared, already clambering up the ladder of the helicopter, Rin shooting up and running after the ladder, and as the almost expected shouting match began, Illya, Edge, and Miyu just watched in silence, then looking at each other and chuckling to themselves, Edge sitting up and stretching his arms.

"Well, shall we go home?" Illya asked, Miyu and Edge nodding, Edge looking up at the clouds again.

"The longest night of our lives… is finally over…" Edge chuckled, one hand shading his eyes as he looked back at the rising sun with the girls…

XXXX

"Illya… hey, come on, wake up…"

The first thing Illya heard as she woke up was Shirou's familiar voice, and she could feel him shaking her awake as her eyes opened.

"O-Onii-chan?" Illya murmured, glancing over, and while there was something of a weird haziness to things, she was definitely seeing her older brother. _"Oh yeah, I did go home…"_

"Hey, come Illya, you're gonna be late if you don't get up, geez…" Shirou murmured, Illya not noticing his tone was… a little _off_ from what she normally knewm but her arms moved up and fell around Shirou's neck, "Eh?!"

"Eheheee… Onii-chan…" Illya chuckled, Shirou sighing.

"Oh, you're still half asleep eh? Come on, wake up all the way…" Shirou stated.

"Yeah, maybe… I worked really hard yesterday…" Illya murmured, Shirou's eyes darting around a bit as he tried to pull away. "So as a reward, I want…"

"Uh… Illya… hey, uh… come on can you stop?!" Shirou stuttered out, Illya easily pulling him closer even as he struggling a bit.

"A good morning kiss…"

 _Chu…_

When Illya became _fully_ aware, she didn't see the eyes of her brother… she saw eyes as pale as the open sky at noon, surrounded by pale skin with a few bits of snow white hair in front of them, and Illya pulled back in a bit of confusion, and then she blinked in confusion to see that it was _Edge_ who was in front of her, the boy's face blankly in shock and _burning_ red, his left eye twitching ever so slightly as his jaw twitched, but not a sound left his throat.

And then Illya started screaming, Edge snapping out of his shock and joining in with his own yells, both shooting back and hitting opposite walls.

"S-S-Sorry Edge! I thought you were my bro-" Illya cut herself short on that sentence, Edge frozen against the wall, "NO! I meant in my dream! In my dream… WAIT THAT'S EVEN WORSE!"

"Were you about to say you thought I was Shirou-senpai?!" Edge yelped.

"NO!" Illya snapped, shaking her head in a panic.

"Man, I just feel…. WAIT A MINUTE WHAT?!" Edge yelped, the context starting to sink in for him, _"I JUST HAD MY FIRST KISS STOLEN BY A BROCON?! I KNOW SHE'S MY FRIEND BUT GOOD GOD!"_

"It's not what you think I swear it isn't!" Illya yelped, holding her arms forward and then burying her face into her bed, _"This is bad, this is so, so bad! I just kissed Edge! I… I KISSED EDGE?! I SERIOUSLY DID THAT! OH GOD THIS IS SO BAD!"_

"Uh… uhwawawawa… Illya… j-just calm down! P-Please stop screaming!" Edge started to panic too, trying to think of how to sort things out, but his mind was still locked on the fact Illya had just fully kissed him… and not a light peck, not a short moment either, _"That lasted for like ten seconds…. GOOD FRICKIN GOD WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"_

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm sorry! I totally didn't mean to kiss you like that!"

"DON'T MAKE IT WORSE BECAUSE NOW I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT!"

As the two got close to yelling again, the door opened and Miyu entered, both subjects who were panicking freezing dead as Miyu looked between them.

"THIS ISN'T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" Edge and Illya yelped.

"Edge, it's not fair if you get closer to Illya faster." Miyu stated, Edge and Illya both blinking.

"What?" Edge and Illya murmured.

"A kiss is a sign of being closer right?" Miyu added, "So as a close friend of Illya's I should get one too."

"YOU'RE COMPLETELY MISSING THE POINT HERE!" Edge snapped, "And we're just friends, we're totally not trying to get closer than that!"

"Y-Yeah! That's it, nothing more! It was… It was just an accident!" Illya added, Miyu tilting her head.

"Isn't something like that between friends a usual thing?" Miyu asked.

"NO!" Edge snapped, "Agh forget it, can we just NOT be late to school?!"

XXXXX

A little while later, and the three kids were rushing along their way to school, Edge keeping at a steady trot since his longer strides meant he had to slow down to let Illya and Miyu keep pace with him.

"So _that's_ why we came over." Edge finished explaining the reasoning behind him and Miyu being at Illya's, the girl nodding.

"We thought you might have trouble waking up after last night, so, to be sure…" Miyu added.

"Right… thanks, Edge, Miyu…. But, Edge, are you fine?" Illya asked.

"I'm a fast healer, yeah, I'm totally fine!" Edge nodded.

"Yes… but, at this rate…" Miyu murmured.

"Yeah, it'll be a close call." Illya nodded.

"Not even that, we won't make it at all." Miyu added.

"Well, in that case… nobody's around…" Illya hummed, "Ruby!"

"Oh come on…" Edge sighed, watching as the Kaleidosticks came out, Illya and Miyu Tranceing and taking off, "GOD DAMMIT YOU TWO! DON'T DITCH ME!"

Edge growled and then poured on the running as Miyu and Illya blazed ahead in the air, cursing under his breath the entire time until he caught up to them at the school gates.

"Oh, he made it." Miyu hummed, her and Illya releasing the Trances.

"No… shit… Sherlock…" Edge panted, "I had to… sprint a mile… to catch up… you damn jerks…"

"A mile?" Illya titled her head, "Don't you mean kilometers?"

"I'm American remember?!" Edge snapped.

XXXX

That entire school day went smoothly and normally, well, except for the part where Miyu had been sticking to Illya like glue, much to the confusion of the normal gaggle of friends, and near the end of the day, the four of them had confronted the magical trio, though Edge was more over just lying on his desk.

"How do I put this?" Suzuka hummed, "I can't tell what's going on with you two anymore… weren't you two fighting just yesterday?"

"That's a complicated explanation." Edge murmured, leaning on a hand.

"Well, maybe you're just imagining stuff. Probably all of it." Illya chuckled, looking to the side, _not_ wanting to start thinking about the morning…

"To become so affectionate overnight… does this mean…" Nanki gasped.

"Illya you jerk! How dare you go and conquer Miyu-run without our knowing?! Let me touch her too!" Tatsuko snapped, Mimi putting her hands on the blonde's shoulders.

"W-Well, it's good they're getting along." Mimi murmured, Edge sighing.

"Tatsuko, you're blowing this out of proportion." Edge muttered.

"SILENCE GIRL BOY!" Tatsuko snapped.

"How many times do I have to say I'm most definitely a guy?!" Edge snapped, slamming a hand on his desk.

"Besides, this kind of affection shouldn't be that bad." Miyu spoke up, "Edge and Illya have kissed."

At that, Edge and Illya froze, while Illya's friends all yelped… and then had various reactions…

"K-KISSED?!" Mimi yelped, her eyes swirling in shock.

"EHHHH?! Already?! In elementary?!" Nanaki gasped.

"Oh hooo! TELL MEE!" Suzuka cheered.

"AREN'T YOU A FUJOSHI?!" Edge snapped, standing right up, then all eyes turned to him, "Why do I feel like you're all thinking that was my fault! I'm not the one who started it, hell, Illya was half asleep!"

"You took advantage of her?!" Tatsuko yelped.

"I just said I didn't start it! Illya's the one who kissed me, and she was half asleep when it happened, so she had no… OH MY GOD I'M SAYING THIS OUT LOUD?!" Edge snapped out of his embarrassed panic, gripping at his hair as he yelled, while Illya was just red faced and looked to be on the verge of passing out.

 _ **And that was how one battle ended… but, ends are also beginnings after all. As it turned out, our tumultuous dealings with Rin and Lluvia, as well as the world of mages, were by no means over… in fact, gathering the Cards was, as it turned out, just the start of it. And how do things go from here on? Well… pretty hard for me to explain actually.**_

 **A/N**

 **Ahh man this was satisfying. Heheh, time to move on into 2wei! Things are gonna get wild from here! Oh I feel so sorry for Edge…**


	11. 2wei Chapter 1

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 11: New Beginning**

 _ **Coltheart Compound**_

"So can I finally get all these damn bandages off of me?"

Edge sighed as he tugged at the wrappings still on his chest that were left from his previously sustained injuries, Albert overlooking the fading marks where any wrappings had already been removed, the butler nodding as he let Edge lower his left arm.

"Considering the condition you were in when you returned you took much longer to heal… not only were the remainder of your seals shattered, you had fractured bones, internal injuries of all sorts, and yet still managed to get all the way back on your own. Frankly Young Master I am surprised you were even capable of moving." Albert stated, Edge just looked to the side as he started removing the rest of the wrappings covering his torso.

"Yeah… same here… kind of." Edge murmured, rolling his right arm after pulling on his usual black shirt and tugging the sleeves down, his mind more stuck on the fight itself and what had happened than actually thinking of how he'd mustered the stamina to get back to the compound that night. _"It's still pretty odd to think about… using the Archer Card and then that weird trance I was in… And the fact something about the Archer Card felt so familiar to me… and then the Excalibur I drew… when I got out of that trance it wasn't black anymore…"_

Edge drew back to the image of the imitation holy sword that he'd been able to use during that battle, and it remained caught there in his mind along with all the other images of swords left imprinted on him from the use of the Archer Card as well, and one more image stuck with him… a field of countless blades, the sun glinting off of each one of them, a breeze blowing through the emerald field... And just past that, a gleaming door like a gateway to another space entirely.

"Young Master?"

Edge snapped back out of his thoughts as Albert tapped him on his shoulder, the boy shaking his head, giving a slight chuckle.

"Ehehe, sorry about that! I just zoned out a bit… but, another thing came up during that mess… tis." Edge stood up and lifted his right hand, mana sparking at his fingers and shifting outwards and into the shape of Excalibur, the imitation Noble Phantasm forming into the young magus' open palm, Albert's eyes widening as Edge showed the gleaming blade, light shining from the silver and marked by the glowing blue lines across it.

"Is that… impossible! That sword was lost to time!" Albert gasped, Edge nodding.

"It was… but, this isn't the _real_ Excalibur, it's a fake… made by me." Edge stated, spinning the glowing blade and holding it straight, "A sword created when I was battling the Servant wielding it… I just remember the image sticking when _something_ in me changed. And, after the last battle, it changed again into what you're seeing now."

"But… _how?_ Even with Projection, you would have only made an inferior copy… that sword you're holding may be a fake, but… let me see it, please." Albert asked, Edge handing the butler the sword, the man looking it over, taking a glove off and running his palm along the flat of the blade, "This may be a false copy of the sword, but, Young Master, this is no inferior imitation. I don't know how, but the blade you created is on par with the Noble Phantasm itself… it's as if… as if it's your own Noble Phantasm…"

"Eh?" Edge simply tilted his head at Albert's comment, the man's eyes widening.

"Young Master, what _happened_ during that final battle? What do you remember?" Albert asked, Edge taking the sword back, letting it vanish into light in his hands.

"Well…" Edge started, sitting down as he began explaining in rather precise detail the events of the Berserker battle, up to when he felt himself blank out, like he was watching himself fight, but had no control over his body, "… it was like this overwhelming desire to win, to defeat what was in front of me and end the fight… but as it went… part of me realized the way I was going with it… I felt like I had to win, but I had to live at the same time… I felt surrounded by black, but then a single thread of white showed itself, and I clung to that, I clung to it and forced control back."

"You mean… you entered the Carnage Trance?!" Albert gasped, Edge tilting his head.

"Carnage what now?" Edge inquired, Albert looking Edge over carefully.

"Young Master, can you lift the back of your shirt? I simple want to double check the remnants of the seals." Albert requested, Edge shrugging and lifting his shirt, Albert bringing prana to his hands, and like when he'd bandaged Edge, saw no signs of any of his remaining seals, including the dark seal that had been present. _"The Dark Seal is gone… not even the Master has this seal removed from him, it's a mark all Coltheart's bear… yet Young Master has not only lost all of his seals, but the Dark Seal as well… which would mean he definitely entered a Stage 2 Carnage Trance… but how did he survive? No Coltheart in history ever entered that state and survived due to the physical stress it places on their bodies… much less… unless…"_

"There's nothing there, so why are we checking again? And what's this Carnage Trance thing you're talking about, it sounds kind of important. Does it have to do with that… _odd_ feeling I described?" Edge asked, Albert nodding.

"Well… yes but… I feel right now may not be the time to explain… or rather, I _would_ explain, but you'll be late for class." Albert stated, Edge blinking, pausing for a moment as his mind got out of Magus mode.

"EHHHHHH! I completely forgot when I was thinking about all of that! I have to catch up to Illya and Miyu, we have morning duty!" Edge shot up and rushed out, Albert chuckling as the boy left.

"Same as always. Surprised that after all of that, he's still the same kind, optimistic boy… but at the same time, he's matured quite a bit. Hm… I believe it's safe to say the Young Master isn't really a child any longer."

 ** _Einzbern House_**

Edge came to a near careening halt as he braked his bike to a full stop, panting a bit as he leaned over the handles, letting out a sigh as he caught his breath.

"I need to learn to slow down… I do wake up early…" Edge grumbled, stepping off of the bike as he heard the gate opening.

"Oh, Edge, you're here?" Illya spoke up as she exited the yard, Miyu with her of course, Edge chuckling.

"Yeah I kinda rushed it a bit truth be told. But hey, I finally got all those freakin' bandages off of me, and not a scar to be seen!" Edge chuckled, moving his bike behind the wall and then matching pace with the girls.

"Healing magic?" Miyu asked, Edge shrugging as they rounded a corner.

"Kind of… don't know why, but my wounds healed way faster than before. No idea what's going on though." Edge shrugged, picking up the pace, "Now come on, let's not be late!"

"Edge wait! You're faster than us remember? You've got longer legs!" Illya shouted.

"I'm not going that much faster!"

"You're still going too fast." Miyu bluntly stated.

"Aggghh come on!"

 ** _Classroom_**

It was a normal day for the elementary kids as far as they were concerned, a quiet, normal day in class as June continued on, the summer heat beginning to settle in. Though, as Edge had learned, with the group of friends he'd more or less been inducted into, the beginning of the day wouldn't be quiet for long.

"Let's go to the beach!" Tatsuko came barreling in as loud as ever, Edge blinking at how she was wearing a bow up ring around her waist as she dashed over, constantly repeating "Beach" again and again like a broken record.

"Tatsuko it's _June._ Isn't it a bit too early to make summer plans? Wait what am I saying? If I was back in America I'd already be making plans…" Edge murmured, hanging his head.

"What is it, Tatsuko?" Illya asked, then the usual peanut gallery arrived.

"Plans for summer." Suzuka muttered, grabbing Tatsuko by the head to halt the small blonde, "It's June but she's all excited already!"

"I see." Illya chuckled.

"The beach? What do you do at the beach?" Miyu asked, earning a confused look from Tatsuko.

"What do you do? You swim of course!" Tatsuko declared, Miyu tilting her head, "Oh! School swimsuits are forbidden! You each have to bring your most erotic swimsuit!"

"Tatsuko you _do_ remember we're all like, _ten,_ right?" Edge muttered, getting a pointer finger right in his face.

"Silence! You should feel grateful for being included in this trip!" Tatsuko snapped.

"Y'know I feel like we'd all be better off as at least middle schoolers…" Edge sighed, Tatsuko laughing as she began to kick into gear again.

"Settle down!" Nanaki snapped, landing a solid uppercut to Tatsuko's floatie, Tatsuko ending up flat on her stomach after the impact.

"That had to hurt." Edge mused.

"Oh… Miyu, have you never been to the beach before?" Illya turned to the other girl as she asked, Edge peering in as it piqued his interest, Miyu nodding.

"Then we should all go together!" Mimi suggested.

"Knowing you I bet you're a fast swimmer." Suzuka chuckled, "With the beach this close, it'd be a waste not to go!"

"Hope it's better than back in the states. The Pacific is cold as heck out there." Edge murmured.

"I-If Illya and Edge are going..." Miyu murmured, Illya and Edge glancing at once another.

"Yeah, let's all go together!" Illya nodded, Edge shrugging.

"Hey why not? A beach trip sounds fun." Edge nodded, leaning on a hand as he spun a pen in the other.

"Alright, it's settled then!" Suzuka nodded, leaning on the window.

"I can't wait." Mimi giggled.

"Turtles! Bring on the turtles!" Tatsuko yelled. "We'll rescue them, then eat them dancing!"

"I doubt we're gonna find any turtles Tatsuko…" Edge sighed.

"You're making the Dragon King's Palace shudder…" Nanaki murmured.

" _Well everyone is as lively as ever."_ Edge thought, an amused grin on his face, _"And Miyu seems to have changed a bit. Still a bit shy, but she's actually talking to the others now. Still… hard to believe it's been around a month since then… since I arrived in this town and ended up in that crazy mess with those Cards. Hard to believe that all fell down to a chance encounter on that bridge… and then things just got crazier as the battles go harder. We got hurt, physically and emotionally… but, in the end we pulled through."_

Edge's grin then faded when he thought about what _else_ had happened… to both him and Illya, those weird moments where something seemed to overtake them, and he looked at his arm again, once more seeing that image of the sword covered fields.

" _But then there were those moments… what_ was _all of that? Illya entering some kind of trance… and even myself… I still have no idea what any of that was… but I just_ know _it has to be something important. It has something to do with why I suddenly feel…_ different."

 ** _Afternoon/Park_**

Edge was sitting up in one of the trees as the girls played around on the park equipment, everyone snacking on the ice cream they'd ordered (courtesy of Edge's pocket money), though Edge was stuck in thoughts again as he shifted to hang upside down and stare up at the clouds as they rolled by.

"Hmmm… I can't help but feel like _something_ is going to go wrong today… I just can't guess _what._ " Edge murmured, tossing the trash in his hands into the nearby trash can with precise aim despite the whole "hanging upside down" bit, "Guess using the Archer card helped my accuracy a bit…"

"Edge."

Edge blinked, looking down from his cloud watching to see Miyu standing before him, flipping off of the branch and pocketing his hands.

"Yeah?" Edge hummed, Miyu scraping some ice cream onto the wooden spoon and holding it out to him.

"Ah." Miyu hummed, holding the stick out, Edge blinking, glancing around at how the rest were watching, but shrugging.

"Ahhh." Edge opened his mouth and took the treat, humming at the sweet flavor, "Not bad."

"AAAHHHHH!" Illya suddenly gave a scream and dashed over, swiping off a rather large bit of her own treat and holding it out, "Say ahh!"

"Eh?" Edge raised a brow, Illya's stern look saying otherwise, Edge sighing again, "Alright alright, ahh."

"Why the sudden reaction?" Miyu asked, Illya nearly ripping the stick out of Edge's mouth as she yelped.

"Eh? W-Well, why did _you_ feed Edge in the first place?" Illya demanded.

"Because the others did it, so I got curious." Miyu stated, Edge rubbing his lips from the minor injury. "But I don't think there was a need for you to react like that."

"I-It's just that… Edge is a boy so while it may be normal for friends among girls to do that… o-only couples actually feed each other so… you know, it has to be at least even then if nobody is a couple!" Illya proclaimed, Edge raising a brow at the statement.

"That… makes no sense. At all." Edge murmured, Illya shooting a look at him.

"Don't act innocent!" Illya snapped, trying to hide the fact she was quite flustered.

"Ehhhhh?!" Edge yelped, then looking past the two girls in front of him and noting the looks on the faces of the other four.

"My my, did you see that, Nanaki-san?" Suzuka chuckled.

"Almost like the last time something like this happened between the three of them. Look at how passionate they are, Suzuka-san." Nanaki chuckled.

"I'm glad all three of you are so close now." Mimi chuckled, Illya and Edge raising a brow.

"You three are so steamy Suzuka's ice cream melted!" Tatsuko laughed, spinning like a maniac on the twirling playset.

"Yeup… WAIT! You ate mine didn't you?!" Suzuka snapped, getting revenge by reversing Tatsuko's spin.

"You were guys were doing it too, I don't see the problem." Edge muttered, "Besides, I'm the one who paid for all of it… for some reason."

"Edge is right. Mimi and Nanaki did it too!" Illya stated, the other two shaking their heads.

"I don't recall." Nanaki snickered.

"Nope!" Mimi giggled, Edge sighing.

"That's mean you two!" Illya snapped, throwing her clenched hand up, "That much is normal between friends isn't it?!"

"Not when one of the friends is a boy. Especially when you're reaction is like _that_ just because another girl shared her food with him." Suzuka chuckled.

"Suzuka!" Illya shouted, her face starting to burn crimson.

"I don't get it…" Edge murmured.

* * *

Edge was also almost not surprised that he continued to be confused as the walk through town continued on, the girl's eventually getting into swimsuit talk that just left the foreign boy at a complete loss, so he chose simply to remain quiet on the matter.

" _I'm just gonna pick out some trunks and a beach shirt… can't be that complicated can it?"_ Edge thought, sighing with his arms behind his head as they stopped at the next crosswalk…

Only for a rather familiar limo to screech to a halt in front of the kids and within the next moment, Edge, Illya, and Miyu were pulled into the car, leaving their friends to stand in stunned silence as the limo shot off.

"Miyu… she's been kidnapped!" Tatsuko shouted, Mimi's hand shooting for a whistle in her pocket. "What do we do, hey what do we do?!"

"Officer!" Mimi shouted, blowing on the whistle with all her might

"Come on, calm down!" Suzuka spoke as she and Nanaki stopped the two panicking girls.

"Isn't that car from Miyu's place?" Nanaki added.

And meanwhile in the limo, while Miyu and Illya were recovering from being yanked in, Edge looked rather annoyed above anything else as he sat up on the seat.

"I _knew_ something was gonna happen today!" Edge snapped, looking up to see none other than Rin and Lluvia, dressed in the local high school uniforms of all things, sitting before the trio of students and the Kaleidosticks, Illya and Miyu looking somewhat surprised to see the older girls yet again.

"Sorry it's so sudden." Rin stated.

"There's work to do." Lluvia added, Edge sighing.

"I knew our break wouldn't last long." Edge grumbled, "What errand does the Mage Association have you two running now?"

"It has to do with the ley lines, somewhat predictably." Rin sighed, a hand on her forehead.

"We've been tasked with restoring the damage left by the Cards. We _did_ seal any perforations, but for some reason they haven't been recovering naturally as expected." Lluvia added, Edge folding his arms.

"That is weird. Leylines normally replenish pretty quickly once they've had any leaks sealed up, and considering the amount of leylines gathered here in Japan, it's odd they _haven't_ been fully restored." Edge explained, Rin nodding.

"And that's the issue. Hopefully they're neither plugged or restricted. So we're going to inject high density mana into the ley lines." Rin explained.

"Which you can do with just us since Illya and Miyu have the Kaleidosticks. Ruby, Sapphire, your prana reserves come from Second Magic, right?" Edge asked, the two Mystic Codes nodding, "Which makes it easy. They have an infinite mana supply, right?"

"How do you… actually, no, probably safe to assume you know a lot more about Mystic Codes than we do… considering you have one stuck to your neck." Rin murmured, Edge blinking, remembering that the choker was indeed still there.

"Oh yeah… I've gotten so used to it being there I kinda forget it's even there sometimes…" Edge murmured.

"Well with that… we'd like to ask for your help." Rin closed the subject, the kids looking between themselves, Ruby humming as she floated out.

"My… judging by those uniforms you and Lluvia-san must have transferred to the same school, right?" Ruby mused, completely ignoring the previous subject.

"Yes." Lluvia answered, though Rin wasn't as receptive to the change in subject.

"Were you even listening to me?!" Rin began throttling Ruby, the Kaleidostick gagging (rather fakely at that) at the deadly vice that was Rin's grip.

"That reminds me… what happened to the Cards we gathered?" Illya inquired, Rin releasing Ruby.

"We have them… Lluvia and I, half each." Rin clarified.

"But there's seven…" Edge added.

"But weren't you trying to steal the Cards from each other before?" Illya's inquiry continued, Ruby nodding.

"Indeed! They even involved a helicopter in their distasteful dispute!" Ruby chuckled, spinning around to imitate the helicopter rotors, Edge picturing _how_ that could have happened in his head.

"I feel sorry for that pilot…" Edge murmured.

"Ohhohohoho! Whatever are you saying? Right, Rin Tohsaka?" Lluvia laughed, Edge's look _immediately_ hitting that flat stare that said he was _about_ to say something snarky.

"Yes, I'm a Japanese woman who values harmony. Why would I be part of such an unseemly argument?" Rin asked, Illya and Miyu blinking.

"To translate, both of them were informed that neither could return to the Mage's Association until they learned to cooperate." Sapphire stated.

"Thank you, Sapphire." Edge nodded, Sapphire nodding in return.

"I still think there's something wrong about fighting so hard you crash a helicopter." Miyu pointed out the absurdity of such an event once again, Edge nodding.

"Ahahahaa! They're both hopeless idiots!" Ruby cackled, Rin and Lluvia's eyes shifting to glares, Edge lowering five fingers on one hand in time enough to when Rin and Lluvia went for each other's throats.

"Took them long enough." Edge snidely remarked.

"You think they'll actually learn cooperation?" Illya asked.

"No." Edge bluntly replied.

"It seems more like they tactfully rid themselves of a nuisance." Ruby quipped.

The rest of the car ride was spent with the kids having to listen to Rin and Lluvia argue, though when they finally _did_ reach their destination, the sun was starting to set, and the group found themselves face to face with the many, _many_ steps leading up to the local temple.

"What a long staircase…" Miyu murmured.

"No matter how often I see them, I don't want to go up." Illya commented, looking somewhat intimidated by the amount of steps.

"Holy crap… this is one of the areas where the ley lines intersect isn't it? I can _feel_ the prana in the air." Edge murmured, Rin nodding as she adjusted the carrying case over her shoulder.

"Yeup. Let's stop dawdling and get moving!" Rin stated, the march up the steps beginning, Edge mystified by the air around the place, even if they weren't even at the temple grounds itself.

" _The amount of prana in this area has to be insane… enough where… right… Fuyuki City is where the Grail Wars took place… that ritual connected to those Cards… but from what I read, don't physical Spirits get summoned like what was formed from the Cards? Eh… questions for later I suppose."_ Edge thought, stopping at a certain point, swearing he saw a flash of _something,_ two blindingly fast figures with blades clashing, but the image was too short and too fuzzy for Edge to properly make anything out of it, _"What was that?"_

"Edge? Are you okay?"

Edge felt like he'd snapped back, looking over to see Illya looking at him, Miyu following Rin and Lluvia down another path to the side.

"Hm? Uh, yeah! It was nothing, just zoned out for a bit is all! Ehe…" Edge chuckled, Illya tilting her head as he walked past her, the troupe continuing on through the woods, Sapphire eventually coming out from her hiding spot in Miyu's hair.

"Nee-san, I think it's best we don't come out too often in places where people may see us." Sapphire warned against Ruby's rather uncaring tendency of showing herself.

"That's true. It's safer to hide in Illya's hair anyway!" Ruby quipped, the group stopping at one a cliff face, much to Illya's confusion.

"It seems there's a barrier here." Lluvia observed, looking up and down the cliff face.

"A barrier?" Illya asked, Edge nodding.

"It was likely put up to keep normal people out. If this is a ley line spot, it'd be best to try and keep the area under wraps for security reasons." Edge explained.

"Then we won't be able to enter will we?" Illya asked, Lluvia shaking her head.

"A barrier of this level poses no problem for us." Lluvia stated, Rin looking back to the kids.

"Illya, stand back please." Rin spoke, the elementary kids doing as told, the air beginning to whip around as Rin lifted her hand, and within moments of the gale started, it ended, revealing that behind the false cliff face was an open glade within the tree line, Illya aweing at the sudden reveal, "Now, let's go."

" _For a couple of temperamental hot heads, I can't deny that Rin and Lluvia are skilled magi in their own right."_ Edge thought, pocketing his hands, _"Even if they're always fighting each other, they at least know how to handle themselves."_

Though Edge immediately felt like retracting his opinion on the two as, _right_ in front of the kids, the teenagers ended up falling right into a rather obvious bog as if they hadn't even noticed it was there in the first place, Edge and Miyu sharing a blank but disillusioned looks, while Illya merely blinked, a forced, rather crooked grin forming as she tilted her head, the three approaching the bog and kneeling over the lip.

"A-A bottomless bog-" Illya murmured, Rin and Lluvia bursting up from below as they flailed about, covered head to toe in the dark liquid.

"Why is there such a lethal trap here?!" Rin screamed.

"What do you mean?!" Lluvia shouted, the kids looking between themselves, Illya grabbing Rin's arms, while Miyu grabbed Lluvia by her _hair,_ the two starting to pull immediately. "OW OW! Why are you grabbing my hair Miyu?!"

"I retract my earlier praise on these two… they're idiots." Edge sighed, a hand on his forehead, Miyu and Illya not having any luck with pulling the teenagers out as they were.

"Uh-oh, it doesn't appear you can pull them out." Ruby chuckled.

"Miyu-sama, with a bottomless bog, I believe we'll have no trouble disposing of the bodies." Sapphire stated, Edge's eyes widening at the rather demure Mystic Code saying something of that sadistic nature.

"Now isn't the time to be saying that is it?!" Illya yelped.

"Illya, in this case…" Miyu murmurd.

"Yeah but…" Illya muttered, her face flushing a bit.

"But what?" Miyu asked.

"Edge is standing right there! Do we really want to let him watch us Trans?!" Illya stated, outright hissing the words to try and keep Edge from hearing her.

"I don't get why you're so embarrassed." Miyu bluntly replied.

"I'll keep them above the water, you two do your thing." Edge stated, grabbing an arm from both teens, more or less simply sitting as the flashing lights and such of Illya and Miyu entering Trans in the non-immediate manner began, Rin and Lluvia flailing about while Edge just planted himself on his rear, "Can you two please stop struggling?"

"Edge, we're done!" Illya spoke, Rin growling.

"About time! Get us out of here!" Rin snapped, Miyu and Illya taking holds themselves.

"One, two…" The three kids spoke, yanking Rin and Lluvia out with hard pulls, Lluvia and Rin coughing and spluttering once they hit the ground.

"And with that done can we now find the insertion point?" Edge asked, hands on his hips.

* * *

"Pheeoooo. This is a big ass cave." Edge let out a whistle as he looked around the rather large space inside of the cave they'd been lead to, noting the rather loud echoing going on.

"I didn't know this was here." Illya awed, Lluvia at the same time finishing the set up for the ritual, placing the last gem in the circle that had been made.

"Okay, let's finish this quickly and head home." Rin then reached into the case she head, pulling out a staff of twisted wood and jabbing it into the ground, a magic circle forming from it's base as the staff then grew and expanded like a tree reaching towards the ceiling of the cave, "Finished placing the dowser."

"So _this_ is what a ley line dowser looks like." Edge hummed, looking down at the spinning magic circle as it rose up around them. "I'll take another position."

Rin nodded to that, Edge stepping to the side and forming a triangle with the other two magi, Illya and Miyu standing right at the dowser with the Kaleidosticks ready.

"Commence mana injection!" Rin shouted, Illya and Miyu aiming the sticks at the dowser, Edge and Lluvia placing a hand on the ground each, and a progressively brighter glow began emanating from the magic circles and the dowser as mana flowed into it.

"Injection at ten percent." Lluvia stated, keeping a read on the process, Edge noting that it was possible to feel the mana flowing into the ground itself from where he was, Rin also placing a hand on the ground, "Twenty… Thirty… Forty… Fifty…"

"Maintain output at those levels!" Rin ordered, Illya looking up at the glowing dowser.

"Sixty-five… Eighty… Ninety-five… One hundred!" Lluvia shouted.

"Release!" Rin snapped, the Edge's eyes wide as he watched the flow of energy move down the dowser in a twirling ribbon of light, the glow growing brighter and brighter before eventually fading down, the dowser returning to it's original staff form.

"Are we done?" Illya asked, the magi standing, Edge nodding.

"That should be it, right? Cause I've got a prickling on the back of my neck…" Edge murmured.

"At least for now." Rin replied, "Until we measure again, we won't know how successful it was."

"For now, our work is complete. Let's leave and go home." Lluvia stated, Edge rubbing the back of his head as he gave a sigh, then he felt that familiar danger sense start blaring in his head as the ground seemed to shift, the ground beginning to shake, the ground then beginning to split from the dowser, violet light coming from the cracks in the earth.

"Knockback?!" Rin gasped.

"Crap!" Edge yelped, the ground starting to cave, Rin and Lluvia getting carried up on a large chunk that shot up as the floor collapsed, Illya shooting up after them, Edge and Miyu getting in front of her.

"Illya, we'll handle this!" Edge stated, pushing off from mana foot holds.

"You secure our escape!" Miyu added, Illya nodded as the other two grabbed Rin and Lluvia, the two dodging the rocks as they pushed off of the air, though as they headed for the exit, an all too large chunk began falling in front of them, Edge already reacting as he lifted his free hand, but as he was, he saw Illya streaking towards them, her expression falling blank as her eyes changed color, and with a flash, she had wordlessly Installed the Archer card from Rin's pocket.

Edge was barely keeping up with the lightning fast movements, Illya projecting the four layered Rho Aias just like during the duel with Saber, the light from the burst of mana being blinding as things came down around the group.

"Illya?!" Edge shouted, the light eventually becoming blinding, and next Edge knew, he found himself on the ground, staring up at the roof of the cave from atop a pile of rubble, dust settling all around everywhere else that could be seen, "Oww…"

"Is everyone okay?!" Ruby shouted, Edge looking down to see a battered but relatively unharmed Rin and Miyu, jumping down to the ground, noting that there was a bit of a warm feeling on his face, likely bleeding from a gash.

"Just now, what was that?!" Rin coughed, Lluvia shooting up herself, a rock perfectly balanced on her head, and she seemed perfectly ignorant of the stone _and_ the blood on her face, Edge almost reeling back in surprise.

"Yes, I'm fine-But you aren't, Lluvia-san." Miyu murmured, Lluvia lifting a brow.

"How are you keeping that so perfectly balanced?" Edge murmured, looking around, _"Where's Illya? And, what happened back there? She used the Archer card all of a sudden for some reason. And her eyes… they looked like they did back then…"_

"Illya, where are you?!" Rin shouted.

"Over here!" Illya's voice carried over from a short way off, a sighs of relief going around as she looked relatively unharmed, "My head hurts, I think I hit it!"

"Ah thank goodness." Edge sighed, trotting after Miyu as she went ahead, though it only took moments for everyone else to stop dead and reel back in shock, "What the hell…?"

"What is this?!" Rin gasped.

"What's going on?" Lluvia murmured, Illya lifting a brow.

"Illya… next to you." Edge pointed out, his eyes stuck on the fact that, right next to Illya, there was now someone else, a perfect look-alike to the girl with tanned skin and pale lavender hair, her a mysterious golden color, the same one Edge remembered seeing before, the doppelganger also garbed in a tattered, caped version of the Archer install… and the one who was the most confused by this was Illya herself, who could only stare in wide eyed shock.

But, what came to a surprise to Edge was when the Illyas managed to look away… and the dark Illyas gaze fell right to Edge, the boy blinking as a small smile curled onto her face.

" _What the hell is going on?!"_ Edge's thoughts perfectly matched his expression, nothing but shock, but for some reason, a strange familiarity rose up in the back of his mind, one that left him at a complete and utter loss as his eyes remained fixed on the other Illya's smile…

" _ **It was that day, the day Illya became two people, that I think the story**_ **really** _ **began for us… a new beginning spawned from the end of the first story, but it was this beginning that was bound to spiral into more. And it all began here, with this golden eyed girl who's first expression towards me was a smile."**_

* * *

 **A/N**

 **And we are back in gear and into 2wei! Sorry for the long wait folks, but here it is, and we're gonna keep rolling from here! Though I do kinda feel a bit sorry Edge due to what is gonna happen to the poor kid… ah well. See ya next time!**


	12. 2wei Chapter 2

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 12: Twin Swords**

" _And now, the sign with the worst luck for today is… We're sorry, those of you who are Cancers! Nothing you do is likely to go well today. If you have no reason to go out, it's best you stay at home. Your lucky color is sky blue. Your lucky item is a red-"_

"I call BS." Edge muttered as he clicked off the TV with a sigh, "I'd put more stock in a divining spell than I would a stupid TV broadcast."

* * *

"Albert honestly, can't I just I dunno, ride my bike or walk like usual? I don't need a ride? Heck, I can just air step! It's faster and easier!" Edge let out a sigh as he slumped in the seat of the sedan, the butler letting out a sigh.

"I made an exception the other day considering you were on morning duty with your friends. Otherwise I'd _prefer_ you simply allow me to drive you to school. That, and as for the air stepping you know you can't run around using magic out in broad daylight without a care. It's a strict rule for all magi whose families are part of the Association to keep the existence of magic a strict secret." Albert stated, Edge folding his arms.

"Everyone is at work or school so this part of the city is nigh on empty… I doubt anyone's gonna notice a fifteen-year-old jumping off thin air…" Edge muttered.

"Ten-year-old, young master… though really you're only ten years old due to legal reasons so you're statement is not exactly wrong." Albert stated.

"Then why bother correcting me?" Edge sighed, leaning on an elbow, _"I'm still bothered by last night… that girl… the other Illya. That smile… something about it was twisted, darker…"_

Edge let out a breath, then blinking when he heard what _had_ to be an explosion, looking out the window to see a _pillar of fire_ shoot up just from the other road, Albert bringing the car to a halt, Edge then seeing none other than Illya springing by and disappearing down the next path, only for a random geyser of water to shoot up then, following by Illya running down _another_ path only for _lightning_ to strike down.

"What the hell…" Edge muttered, "Albert… I'm getting out of the car and helping Illya."

"That… seems to be best Young Master… I didn't drink _that_ much this morning." Albert murmured, Edge shooting the butler a look before chuckling.

"I'll see you after school!" Edge spoke, jumping onto the car and vaulting off of it into the air with a mana boost, getting high enough to spot the fleeing Illya, keeping up his stride in the air until he'd reached her, coincidentally just outside of their school, "Illya!"

Edge landed and promptly did a double take as the rather battered Illya turned towards him, the girl's legs shaking as she leaned on a broom.

"Oh… m-morning Edge… and… good night." Illya murmured, collapsing on the spot, Edge yelping, and as if on a perfect timer, Miyu ran over from the gate.

"Edge, what happened?! What's wrong with Illya?" Miyu gasped, Edge shrugging.

"I dunno! I was on my way here and then there was an explosion, a water pipe ruptured I think, and then lightning came down and I saw Illya running, and then when I finally caught up she was like this!" Edge rapid fired his speech, then shaking his head, "Doesn't matter right now! Quick we need to get her to the nurse's office!"

"Right!" Miyu nodded.

* * *

 _ **Nurse's Office**_

When Illya finally regained consciousness, amid the confusion from noting she was indeed in the nurse's office, it was the fact she was greeted by someone who was _clearly_ a teenager rather than an adult, a young woman with snow white hair and golden eyes, a bored look on her face as she looked at Illya.

"You weren't too injured. Those were only scratches." The nurse stated in an equally bored tone, twisting a strand of hair between her fingers. It was boring. Next time you visit, come with some more life threatening injuries. Like an arm torn off, or your head twisted twice around."

"Ms. Caren I don't think that last one is survivable!" Edge spoke up from the side, Illya glancing over to see him and Miyu in chairs by the wall.

"She's awfully eccentric. Is she really a nurse?" Ruby whispered from just under Illya's head.

"Sh-she should be." Illya whispered.

"Well, if you aren't feeling well, you should lie down a while." Caren stated, turning and closing the curtain, leaving the three children along behind the shading.

"She is _way_ too young to be a nurse in an elementary school…" Edge murmured, Miyu sighing at how skewed Edge's priorities were at the moment.

"Illya, are you alright?" Miyu asked, Illya nodding, Sappire and Ruby drifting into the open.

"The injuries aren't too bad." Illya replied, Miyu shaking her head.

"Oh, I don't mean that." Miyu clarified, Edge back to paying proper attention, "After yesterday… has there been any change in your body?"

"Ah…" Illya hummed the events of the previous night coming back to her, "What was all that? It wasn't an illusion, was it?"

"Presently, it's a bit hard to determine. It's appearance was identical to yours, but we're not sure about the interior." Miyu answered, Edge blinking at the use of "it" being in reference to the other Illya.

"While we all spaced out, it dashed, didn't it?" Illya sighed.

"It was as quick to run as you are!" Ruby quipped.

"Hey!"

"I doubt she went too far, I've had this prickling feeling down my neck ever since getting to school… that, and we've lost the Archer card. I _think,_ and this is a big if, that the Card somehow became her, well, core so to say, kind of like an artificial heart… well, in the sense being of magic circuits. And with all of the dense mana the other day, she materialized… but I wonder how…" Edge stated, Illya lifting a brow.

"Huh?"

"Magic Circuits are the pseudo-nervous system imprinted on a user's soul. The quantity and quality are determined at birth, and once magic circuits are damaged, that's it, they're gone. The biggest concentration of them is around the heart as it may be. Edge is saying that he believes the Archer Card has essentially become the magical core behind the other's existence." Miyu stated.

"Ohhh! So like in a mahou shoujo anime, where the magical item has a core supplying its power?" Illya asked, Edge and Miyu looking at each other.

"If you want to put it that way then… yeah." Edge shrugged.

"Well anyway, we should do something about it quick!" Ruby chirped up, drawing the attention to her once more, "Regardless of its nature, we can't leave a cosplayer that looks exactly like Illya running loose."

"Yeah really!" Illya yelped, grabbing her head, "If anyone sees they'll misunderstand!"

" _But the other one has tanned skin and golden eyes… you'd have to be an idiot to think Illya suddenly got a dark tan and started wearing colored contacts."_ Edge thought, sighing a bit.

"Hey, why don't we form a search-" Illya sat up, and the _moment_ she did, a soccer ball whizzed past her head right out of nowhere, impacting the pillow with enough spin that _smoke_ was coming off of it, leaving the three kids stunned as it eventually slowed, the ball bursting like a balloon and a good chunk of it smacking Illya in the face.

"Illya?" Edge and Miyu murmured.

"I'mheadinghomeearlytoday!" Illya shouted.

"What, are your organs falling out?" The nurse's voice came from the other end, Edge and Miyu peering their heads out from the curtain.

"They are not!" Miyu snapped.

"What is wrong with you?!" Edge shouted in addition.

"Ah… then go home or whatever you feel like." Caren merely sighed in a bored manner, Edge and Miyu early having the same flat expression, "Jeez. If you aren't feeling well at least puke up an organ."

"Why are you a nurse?!" Edge shouted.

* * *

"Miyu, Edge, you didn't have to leave early too." Illya said as she and the mentioned two walked their way to her house, Miyu and Edge shaking their heads at the comment.

"No, I'm worried about you." Miyu stated, "You're more important to me than compulsory education, Illya."

"You're feelings are too serious sometimes." Illya sighed.

"That and I like to think a soccer ball flying at your head with enough force to make it burst is cause for concern." Edge chirped up, then blinking when he felt a chill go down his neck, feeling his danger sense going off, "Move!"

Edge grabbed Illya and pulled her out of the way as he and Miyu dodged, a large black _arrow_ embedding itself into the ground where Illya had been, Edge blinking at the fact the arrow was the same altered phantasm he himself had used during the Berserker battle, and that was itself enough to clue him in as the image of that twisted grin rose back into his mind.

"What, what?!" Illya yelped, Edge already having pulled out Blood Rose on the spot.

"It's an attack from atop the pole!" Ruby shouted, the three looking up, a shape darting off of the pole, Illya yelping as it started throwing _blades_ at her, Edge deflecting them and raising Rho Aias to stop them dead, the attacker then landing and revealing the culprit to be exactly who Edge had guessed it to be: the dark Illya.

"Honestly…" The dark clone murmured, standing up, a black bow in hand, "You're quick to run aren't you, Illya?"

"I-It's here!" Illya yelped, Edge barring his sword as Miyu ran over, about ready to attack herself.

"The dark one spoke!" Ruby gasped.

"She has a personality?" Miyu murmured, Sapphire flitting out and nodding.

"Yes, it's different than the corrupted Heroic Spirits." Sapphire observed.

"I don't think now is the time to stand around in shock." Edge stated, the clone confirming his statement by conjuring a blade and throwing it right at Illya, the girl's hat being the victim of the weapon, which was the white short sword of the pair, "So she can use the Archer Card's powers…"

"Wh-What?!" Illya gasped, her eyes wide.

"You dodged again." The clone sighed, "Apparently your intuition and luck are unnecessarily high. I was trying to eliminate you as natural as possible, but it's no use. I'll just kill you with my own hands!"

The clone then projected _both_ the black and white blades, dashing forward, Edge blocking the slashes as Illya quickly tranced and shot into the air, the two magical girls stopping as Edge kept the clone in a blade lock.

"Illya, Miyu get to the woods! We can't fight her out here in the streets!" Edge shouted, pushing the enemies blades back and dodging the next slashes, catching up to Illya and Miyu as they moved off.

"Why is she trying to kill me?!" Illya shouted, Ruby humming.

"Did you do something to make her hate you?" Ruby asked.

"At any rate, Edge is right, we should retreat outside of the city." Miyu stated, keeping a good pace herself, "We cannot fight here!"

"Exactly my idea." Edge muttered, looking back to see their pursuer following them from the rooftops.

"She's hopping after us!" Illya yelped, "Do you think the dump truck and stuff this morning was her?"

"Well I imagine it was… though I don't know why." Ruby responded.

"Either way, she is an enemy who means us harm. We cannot leave her be." Miyu spoke.

"I concur, Miyu-sama." Sapphire nodded.

"We'll take her in the woods then!" Edge stated, already dropping into the tree line, skidding to a stop once he hit the ground and dismissing Bloody Rose, keeping up a movement as he hopped over to where Illya landed, the girl preparing a magical shot as the clone appeared atop one of the other trees.

"Fire!" Illya shouted, but the bolt was simply deflected like it was a more thrown pebble, Illya yelping as her clone started lobbing swords at her, Edge watching as the black and white swords flew by, his hands opening on an instinct.

"Trace… on!" Edge shouted, the same swords appearing in his hands again, to his surprise, but he simply flipped them around, deciding to leave it for later as he countered the thrown swords with precise, rapid slashes of his own, skidding back as he blocked one, the blocked sword spinning off and embedding itself in the dirt as Edge reworked his stance.

"Hmm, impressive. You're using those even without the Archer Card." The clone chuckled, twirling newly formed blades into her hands and jumping down from the trees.

"You held back too much Illya! Fire like you mean it!" Ruby shouted, Illya turning an readying another bolt.

"One more! Fire!" Illya attacked again, but again, the clone deflected the shot like it was nothing, the girl landing with a smirk on her face as Illya started shaking Ruby, "What? Why?!"

"Somehow your output's decreased dramatically! You've gotten really weak." Ruby stated, Edge and Miyu both gasping.

"What do you mean?" Miyu asked, the dark Illya laughing at the news.

"I see. You're weaker, Illya." The clone mocked, "But of course… after all, I'm here. So just relax… and die quickly!"

"Like hell!" Edge snapped, jumping in front of the other two and countering, the clone blinking when his swords shattered her own after they collided, Edge swiping both to follow up, the clone jumping back and reforming her own weapons.

"I should've known yours would be stronger than mine… of course they are." The clone mused, a wicked grin showing on her face as Edge glared at her, "More… show me more!"

The clone then shot forward again, Edge ducking the slashes and spinning on his hands, launching a kick that landed solidly on the girl's stomach, launching her upwards, and she merely chuckled as she formed her bow and fired multiple shots at Edge, who brought out a shield to block the arrows, tossing the replica aside and shooting forward, clashing blades again as the dark Illya landed, the two keeping up the clash of blades.

" _I don't get it… I'm watching her fight and it's like I know those moves… it's like when I used the Archer card, except now it's just me. What the heck is going on?!"_ Edge thought, breaking his opponent's blades again, his own shattering into light only to be quickly reformed, though when he slashes his opponent disappeared in a blink of red light.

"Edge, behind you!" Illya shouted, Edge turning to see that the other Illya had reappeared just behind him, the girl kicking him away and smack onto a tree, Edge not even getting time to recover from the blow before the girl shot forward and pinned him to the tree with the opening she got. "Edge!"

Edge struggled against the girl as she smirked, the clone giving one push herself, and to the surprise of the other two watching, forced her lips onto Edge's, the boy's eyes wide as the forced kiss got deeper, Miyu and Illya with blank, shocked expressions from both the scene before them and the _noises_ that followed as Edge struggled while the girl keeping him pinned just kept going, spittle at both their lips as Edge barely got moments for air before the girl dove right back in again and again like a starved person finally getting a meal, and once the moment that seemed like an eternity passed, the dark Illya kept one final push on Edge before pulling back, the other two _clearly_ seeing her tongue move back into her mouth as she wiped the small lines of saliva off her mouth, Edge slumping to the ground in a heap, his eyes outright spirals as a low noise came out of his throat.

"Hmhmhm… better than I expected. Thank you very much." The clone chuckled, Illya having a particularly dark aura around her as she tightly clenched Ruby, feeling like _something_ inside of her clicked and then proceeded to break.

"Uh… Illya?" Miyu murmured.

"How dare you…" Illya growled, the clone turning to her with a raised brow, "How dare you steal Edge's lips with my face! It already happened once! Don't make things weird between us!"

Illya fired another bolt with a swing of her wand, the clone swatting it right back at Illya, smoke kicking up from the hit.

"It's impossible Illya. Your output's dropped to a third of what it was. You're really weak!" Ruby shouted.

"That ticks me off!" Illya grumbled, jumping away when Dark Illya jumped through the smoke and attacked, Illya dodging the blades and blocking, her eyes stuck on the edges of the lethal weapons as she held them back with Ruby, sparks flying through the air from the collision, _"S-Scary… When you see them close, blades are really scary! Blades?"_

Illya then got an idea, jumping back from the clash, swinging Ruby as if swinging a sword of her own, the shot that was fired a bit thinner but otherwise still ineffective as Dark Illya blocked it.

" _No, not like that."_ Illya thought, thinking back to Edge's Bloody Rose and its secondary attack, _"It needs to be like that!"_

"Resisting will only make you suffer more." Dark Illya chuckled, "If you just relent, I'll kill you gently!"

" _Right… I'm not shooting a mana bullet. Think back to that attack. It needs to be thinner, and sharper, more like a blade!"_ Illya swung Ruby again, a glint in the air as a thin streak of mana shot forward, Dark Illya skidding to a stop from her dash to block, the air bursting as the mana blade dispersed, a tree behind the girls falling into two from a perfectly clean cut… and Dark Illya was left with shredded clothes and a broken sword, much to Illya's surprise.

"Ow!" Dark Illya muttered, holding her shoulder to cover her chest, "Not bad Illya, that was somewhat unexpected."

"Naked?!" Illya yelped, her face getting red once more, "I only cut her clothes?!"

"But it seems to be working." Ruby quipped.

"Ahh… I can't really fight like this. A shame." Dark Illya sighed, then shrugging, "Well, in honor of your efforts, I'll let you off for today. "

"What?"

"But don't relax. If you let your guard down, I'll kill you, Onee-chan." Dark Illya chuckled, jumping off into the air, Illya throwing her arms up.

"Onee… WAIT! Don't go off into town with my face and naked!" Illya shouted, then remember what happened _earlier,_ "EDGE!"

"Now you remember!" Ruby quipped, Illya running back to where the comatose Edge was, Miyu looking him over.

"Miyu, how is he?" Illya asked, Miyu standing up.

"He's fine… just passed out. That girl was able to take mana from him by doing… _that."_ Miyu murmured.

"Huh?" Illya hummed.

"Mana transfer." Ruby spoke up, "Magi are capable of transferring mana to each other through a variety of ways, whether direct transfer with a spell or, in this case… exchanging bodily fluids. Probably why that was so... _messy._ "

"Quite lewd as well. No wonder Edge-sama passed out." Sapphire stated, "Considering his mana reserves, if Edge-sama had enough mana taken for him to pass out, we'd be here for a while waiting for him to recover."

"Th-Then what should we do?" Illya asked, "Should we carry him or…"

"It'd be best if we at least get him back on his feet." Miyu stated, Illya tilting her head, then yelping when Miyu propped Edge up and straddled his lap.

"M-Miyu what are you doing?!" Illya yelped.

"I'm going to transfer mana from myself to Edge. Sapphire, can you help?" Miyu asked.

"While I'm not _very_ comfortable with this idea… but alright." Sapphire sighed.

"What?" Illya hummed, and to Illya's shock, Miyu leaned forward and kissed Edge herself, Illya frozen as she watched Miyu part Edge lips, even more blood rushing to her head as small amounts of spittle peeked out between the lock, Illya sinking to her knees as the image burned into her mind against her will.

Miyu shortly finished the task, wiping off her lips as she pulled back, Edge's eyes eventually opening again, the boy letting out a pained groan as he held his head.

"Aggh… damn, why does my head hurt so much?" Edge muttered, blinking when things became clear to him again, his face getting red when he noticed that Miyu was sitting on him, "Uh… Miyu? What's…"

"The dark Illya took mana from you." Miyu stated, "You passed out from the mana drain, so I transferred enough mana back to you so you'd regain consciousness."

"Wait… y-you did a mana transfer… w-with your…" Edge muttered, pointing at Miyu's lips, the girl nodding.

"It was the most practical decision to make. It was… a bit messy, I will admit. But I'm glad you're awake." Miyu nodded, steam practically coming off of Edge's face as his jaw twitched, words failing to come out of his mouth.

"Ah… ahhhh…." Edge murmured, glancing past Miyu and raising a brow when he saw Illy on her hands and knees, "I-Illya?"

"It's not fair…" Illya muttered, "First my clone and now Miyu… the only time I did that was when I was half asleep and even then! It's not fair!"

"Illya, what's wrong?" Miyu asked, standing up.

"You know what's wrong!" Illya snapped tears in her eyes, "Why did you kiss Edge?!"

"So that he'd have enough mana restored to gain consciousness. I don't see why you're reacting in such a way." Miyu stated.

"How are you so oblivious!?" Illya yelled, Edge letting out a sigh, though his face got red as he watched the rather one-sided argument before him, putting a hand over his eyes.

"Today is not my day…" Edge muttered, another breath passing through his mouth, "at all."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Annnd here is this chapter! Finally got to** _ **that**_ **happening. Things can only get crazier from here… I feel a smidge sorry for Edge… but at the same time I'm entertained.**


	13. 2wei Chapter 3

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 13: Round 2**

"I feel very, _very_ violated right now…"

Edge shuddered as he, Miyu, and Illya kept the line they'd set to get to Lluvia's house, Miyu already having phoned in to the teenagers to inform them of the… incident with Dark Illya. Edge meanwhile had an annoyed look on his face the entire time, though thinking about what had happened made him shiver in a way he really did not like one bit.

" _Downside of being a teenager and a magus… hormones don't know when to quietly shut up!"_ Edge thought, this being the one time where he felt like openly hating how his aging had been sped up.

"I don't understand that dark one." Illya grumbled, bitterly gripping the straps of her school bag as she glanced at Miyu and Edge in turn, her eyes somewhat fixated on Edge's thin lips, "We didn't resolve anything, and she got away."

" _She's trying to deny what happened."_ Miyu and Edge shared the collective thought as Illya bit her thumb while lightly grumbling to herself.

"They were right when they said Cancers would have the worst luck today." Illya sighed, Edge and Miyu blinking at her statement.

"You're a Cancer?" Edge and Miyu asked, Illya glancing at the two with a raised brow of her own.

"Hmm… yeah." Illya answered.

"I'm… also a Cancer." Miyu stated, Illya blinking, Edge letting out a small breath.

"Same." Edge hummed, then his look darkened, "So… I guess my luck really was just bad…. Ehehe… then again I'm unlucky anyway."

"Things do seem to happen to you without much control." Miyu added.

"Pretty sure my luck is E rank…" Edge grumbled, pocketing a hand, Illya and Miyu looking at each other in confusion from the statement.

 _ **Edelphelt Mansion**_

"So, we're meeting… to discuss counter measures!"

 _PAHP_

Rin slapped her hand onto the white board with crudely drawn images of both Illya's on it… though not that much were paying attention. Lluvia was sipping from the tea Miyu had made, Edge was projecting and deconstructing random small objects, while Illya was marveling at the architecture of the house, seeing as she'd never been inside of it before.

"It's the first time I've seen the inside of your home, Lluvia-san. The rooms are spacious, and everything looks expensive." Illya hummed, Ruby flitting out.

"Ah yes, yes. And as for why Rin is working here as a maid…" Ruby hummed.

"Isn't it because she's broke as all get out? Which is weird since she's a Tohsaka…" Edge quipped, "Heck last I checked doesn't your family _live_ in this city?"

"PAY ATTENTION DARN IT!" Rin yelled, slamming her hands down onto the table, then grabbing her pointer again, "Our problem is Kuro Illya. Her goal is to kill this Illya… but for some reason, she's been weakened."

"I think it has something to do with the other one's appearance. Maybe a good portion of Illya's mana capacity got moved over to her when whatever the heck brought her here is the cause." Edge stated, _"But… there's no abnormalities, which is even weirder… does it have something to do with Illya herself, something she doesn't know herself?"_

"Oh well, let's decide our objective." Rin took the floor again, slapping the pointer onto the white board, "With Illya's life at stake, there's only one thing to do! We're going to capture Kuro Illya!"

"S-Sure, but how?" Illya asked, Rin swiping her pointer to Edge.

"Edge. That's how." Rin stated, a moment of silence passing in the room.

"NOW HOLD ON A MINUTE WHAT?!" Edge snapped, Illya shooting to her feet.

"You can't be serious! Why make Edge do it all?!" Illya snapped, though it was clear it wasn't really the fact she doubted Edge could do it that made her mad… rather it was the fact she still had the image of Kuro forcing herself on Edge burned into her memory.

"I'm not saying he's going to do it all. No, Edge is going to be our trump card." Rin added, Illya and Edge both raising brows, "Edge understands how the Archer Card's powers work, and considering his own strengths, he'll be perfect for getting the upper hand against her. And despite out limited knowledge, we know what Kuro Illya is after."

"That… actually makes a lot of sense when you think on it. I do know how she fights, and my own Projections are stronger then hers, not to mention the Replicas and… even Excalibur." Edge murmured the last part under his breath, Illya sitting back down as Rin nodded.

"Exactly. But, you'll have to help out a bit too, Illya." Rin added, Illya nodding, twiddling her fingers as well.

"Sure but… I've gotten weaker so I don't know if I _can_ help." Illya murmured.

"Don't worry. As you are, there are still things you can do." Rin gently spoke, though knowing the teen like the did, the younger kids didn't feel too optimistic, "At any rate, we will definitely capture this girl!"

"I'll do my best!" Illya nodded, Edge letting out a noise.

" _Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"_ Edge thought.

* * *

"And my bad feeling has been proven right…" Edge let out a sigh as he looked out at one of the trees back in the woods… of which Illya was strung up by a white cloth like a piñata, yelling out her objections as she struggled.

"It's perfect!" Rin snickered amid Edge's palm meeting his face, Miyu's deadpan, blank expression, and Lluvia however being completely on board.

"Is it really?" Sapphire hummed.

"Will this _really_ be effective?" Miyu asked.

"Luring prey with bait is a simple and effective tactic." Rin snickered. "If she wants Illya, even if she knows it's a trap, she can't ignore it."

 _SLAP_

"I want to disagree with her but she's right…" Edge grumbled, a hissing breath passing by his teeth, "But did it _have_ to involve strining Illya up like a piñata at a birthday party?!"

"We've also included a luxurious meal as insurance!" Rin chuckled, drawing attention to the table spread _right below Illya._

 _SLAP_

"That's even more absurd!" Edge snapped, a red mark notably visible behind his bangs.

"It pains me to agree with your ideas, but this strategy is perfect." Lluvia chuckled.

 _SLAP_

"How are you two even regarded as potential students at the Association?" Edge sighed as Rin and Lluvia started snickering among themselves, Edge and Miyu exchanging looks that merely said "Seriously?"

"They can't honestly be this confident." Miyu whispered.

"Sadly they are… they're smart, but at the same time they're dumb." Edge muttered, his hand hitting his forehead _again,_ though a breaking of a stick drew his attention… and revealed that Kuro had _actually showed up,_ staring at the wrangled Illya with her white sword out, looking about as confused as Edge had expected, "SHE ACTUALLY SHOWED UP?!"

And after a moment of pacing around the set up in slight confusion, Kuro let out a sigh.

"It's such an obvious trap I'm not sure how to react." Kuro hummed, Edge's head slumping as Rin and Lluvia scoffed.

"Tsk, she noticed!" Both teens growled.

"Of course she noticed!" Edge and Miyu snapped.

"Oh well. I bet you thought up some lame script huh?" Kuro chuckled, brandishing her sword, "Well then, I'll play along a bit!"

"Fish!" Rin chuckled, shooting up as Kuro jumped at Illya, "Swap the restraint target!"

The white cloth then unraveled as Rin pulled up the concealed length, Illya dropping from the strips as they released her and shot at Kuro, though the magical clone merely let out an amused hum as she was restrained, a few quick flashes and the sound of the air being cut all that was needed for her to be released.

"That fast?!" Illya gasped, already in Prisma form, Edge letting out a breath.

"Now?" Edge hummed, Lluvia stepping up next, "I suppose note."

"Sign!" Lluvia shouted, previously laid gems gleaming around Kuro before a magic circle formed, "Faust der Schwerkraft!"

The spell initiated a gravity bind, much like the one used on Berserker, but, it was only enough to again amuse Kuro as she was brought to her knees.

"A gravity-bind restraint circle? Heh, but compared to the one you used on Berserker, it's much lower in rank!" Kuro chuckled, a magic ball forming at her raised hand that she used to smash the ground, and thus, the magic circle, dust flying everywhere from the impact.

"Illya!" Rin shouted, Illya flying up and releasing a scatter of bolts, kicking up a smokescreen around Kuro as she dodged, though again, it was met by mild amusement.

"A smokescreen huh? Which means… a surprise attack." Kuro hummed, stepping back _just enough_ to dodge Miyu as she charged with a jagged dagger in hand, the Include of the Caster Card, Kuro catching Miyu's arm and keeping a vice grip, "Rule Breaker. A Noble Phantasm that destroys pacts, spells, and anything else formed by mana. That's our Miyu, going straight for my weak point."

Miyu then broke free as Sapphire reverted, stepping back with the card in hand, Kuro sighing as she placed a sword on her shoulder.

"Done already?"

" _Her power is different than the corrupted Heroic Spirits'. It feels like she's reading our every move."_ Miyu thought, Kuro sighing again.

"Honestly though if you _did_ want to take me out quickly why not just get Edge to do it? You know he's the strongest mage here. What, was he left behind after I got to him, or maybe he just didn't want to fight after that?" Kuro hummed.

"Dead wrong!"

Kuro looked up to see the shape of Edge blocking the setting sun, the girl chuckling as he drew his the Excalibur Fake, Kuro jumping back as Edge came down with a crash, the glowing blade kicking up a smoke as Edge brought it level while Kuro brandished her blades at him.

"Hehehe, finally! I was about to get bored with this!" Kuro chuckled, Edge letting out a breath, spinning his blade and then planting it into the ground.

"Burst!" Edge snapped, Kuro blinking, then shooting back when all manner of blades began shooting from the ground towards her, but she kept an excited grin on.

"That's new!" Kuro landed with a slight skid, the summoned swords vanishing as Edge stood up, "Hehe, I really wanna fight you again Edge, I do, but… I don't like interlopers!"

Edge blinking as Kuro shot past him towards the others, grabbing the restraint cloth and using it to pin Rin and Lluvia to the nearest tree as they attempted to ready more spells, then getting Miyu and Illya to scatter by throwing a blade.

"Shoot!" Miyu shouted, firing blasts as Kuro gave chase to Illya, the girl letting out a scoff as she looked back.

"I'd also like to get into a shoot out with Miyu, but I can't hold back with my bow… so, Trace!"

"Did she get away?" Miyu raised a brow as any sounds suddenly stopped, but by Edge's cautious nod, she kept a wary gaze about as the smoke from her blasts then kicked up, revealing Kuro had blocked then with a giant sword that was more like a sharpened slab of stone than a blade, the girl chuckling as she charged forward, Edge stopping the move dead with his own sword, but as the slab broke in sword from the stronger Phantasm hitting it, Kuro was nowhere to be seen.

"Again?!" Edge yelped, Miyu blinking and turning in time to see Kuro reappearing behind her in a flash of red, but, Edge shot over just in time to stop Kuro dead from grabbing Sapphire, "And not this time!"

"Hehe, I knew you'd be able to catch it this time. But, well, sorry Edge, I really don't want anyone interfering, so have some patience, 'kay?" Kuro quipped, winking before teleporting again, once more aiming for Miyu and grabbing Sapphire, then batting the Kaleidostick away, Miyu's trance quickl reverting, "The first weakness of a Kaleid is close combat… and the second is that if they're separated from the stick for more than thirty seconds or are separated by 50 meters, the Trance ends instantly."

"Tch." Edge scoffed, projecting and launching a blade to make Kuro move back, "We're not done!"

"Oh I'm aware of that!" Kuro chuckled, dodging Edge's blade with a twirl, "I hate to half to potentially scar that pretty face… but what's a girl to do?!"

Edge blocked with Excalibur and quickly kept on the offensive, making note of how Kuro was watching his attacks, and after a clash, the Excalibur in his hands vanished, Kuro blinking as Edge slammed his hand on the ground, a tear opening up within and instant, Edge whipping out the familiar Gae Dearg, spinning the spear more like a bo staff as he attacked, the enchantment of the spear ripping right through Kuro's projected swords as if they were paper as she defended against the rapid blows.

"Tch, silly of me to forget you use more than swords." Kuro hissed, skidded to a stop after avoiding Edge's last swipe, the spear landing across Edge's shoulders with the bottom end pointed at Kuro, "Gae Dearg… it's enchant let's the tip cut through mana. And since all of my weapons are created by Projection… tsk, great. Maybe I should bail out for today…"

"No you don't!" Illya chuckled, Kuro turning, Illya smirking as Edge shot up to Kuro, kicking the girl a bit and knocking her right into the same bottomless bog they'd found before, Kuro's eyes wide as she realized what had happened, "Hehe, sorry, but we had one last trick up our sleeve! Gotcha!"

"You faked the ground and led me here?! Tch, like this can hold me! Trace!" Kuro snapped, but the light at her hand simply faded, "What?! Why can't I…"

"Hehehe, Edge was simply leading you over here. I had to focus on hiding it though, that's why I held back." Illya chuckled, Rin and Lluvia getting free of their restraints, Edge kneeling at the lip of the bog as he dismissed the spear in his hand.

"The plan _was_ to try and capture you smoothly, but I gotta say, kudos on making us go to our last resort." Edge hummed, Kuro looking at him with a glare left over from her shock, "But, try to remember I know _exactly_ how the Archer card works next time, 'kay?"

Kuro let out hiss at Edge getting back at her quip by giving a similar wink, Rin and Lluvia then stepping over.

"Ha, I knew it! You were using thaumaturgy to make those swords!" Rin chuckled, she and Lluvia bearing smug grins.

"Try as you might, you'll never escape from that trap." Lluvia scoffed, Kuro glaring up at the two teens with angry tears in her eyes.

"Each of the five great elements were rendered inert and molded to create that bog in perfect order. Nothing can be formed, and no thaumaturgy of any kind will activate in that bog of finality."

And after all the prose, Rin and Lluvia gave way to mocking laughter, cackling at Kuro's plight… and it wasn't long into their mockery of the poor girl that the third (technical) teenager of the bunch landed a solid roundhouse kick on both that knocked them flat to the ground.

"YOU TWO DID JACK SHIT TO HELP THIS PLAN!" Edge snapped, Rin and Lluvia dazed in the dirt while Miyu and Illya just looked… miffed, "Me, Illya, and Miyu did all the work, don't get all high and mighty when you spent half the time stuck to a tree! No wonder the Association has your butts stuck here, you're about as reliable as you are useless!"

"Can someone get me out here?!" Kuro snapped, still sinking lower into the bog by the moment.

" _You_ are not off the hook!" Edge declared, pointing a finger right at Kuro, "After _that…_ ugh… WHAT THE HELL WAS WITH THAT?! I can't even think about it without feeling weird! I may be fifteen, technically, but I'm only chronologically ten dammit, puberty if a fucking bitch and hormones, especially as a magus, are annoying!"

"He's going off on a tangent…" Illya murmured.

"Though he does have a valid point." Miyu added, "Edge, we need to get her out of the bog. As long as she's coated in it's sludge she can't use magic, so we can keep her restrained."

"I have the restraining cloth ready!" Ruby chirped, whipping out a roll of black cloth from… somewhere.

"Hagh, fine." Edge grumbled, kneeling and holding out a hand, "Here… try anything funny and I'm shoving your head under till you pass out though, got it?"

Kuro took a moment and reached a hand up, though right before her hand could even _touch_ Edge's, Illya shot over and yanked her clone straight out of the bog, Ruby flying in and restraining Kuro's limbs within that instant, a silence following as Edge and Miyu stared at Illya while Kuro looked about as surprise.

"Ahem… we don't know what she could try so… well, might as well be safe." Illya coughed into her hand, Edge taking a moment and then looking to the side with a hint of a blush showing in his face.

"Ohh? Is this about… _that?"_ Kuro chuckled.

"SHUT UP!" Illya snapped around, "You have no right to do that with my face! I mean, I kissed Edge first but that was different, it didn't count!"

"So that means I got his _real_ first then?" Kuro hummed, and one couldn't help but not she seemed more… excited about that then teasing, Edge's face horribly red now as Illya started fuming.

"CAN WE JUST TAKE HER BACK TO THE MANSION NOW?!" Edge yelled, Ruby humming as the four kids kept up the random chatter while Miyu kept a hold on Kuro.

"I think he actually gets it now." Ruby hummed, "Ohhohoho, this is so good! Operation Love Interest can begin!"

 **A/N**

 **Whew, took a bit longer than it should have to make this one, but I did it in one sitting! Hehehehe. Oh man, things can only get crazier and better from here on. Forward!**


	14. 2wei Chapter 4

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 14: Normality Breaker**

 _ **Edelphelt Mansion Basement**_

The entire magus/magical team was gathered in the lowest point of the mansion, the restrained Kuro kept up on a restraining apparatus meant to keep her still, namely in a cross position and with her arms bound, though the girl seemed oddly amused by the excessive amounts of restraint being heaped on her after the bottomless bog ordeal.

"Now, let's begin the interrogation." Rin chuckled, Kuro sighing.

"Don't you think this treatment is pretty bad?" Kuro hummed, looking over her restraints, "Even if you hadn't done this, I wouldn't harm anyone. Except Illya."

"That's the problem!" Edge and Illya snapped, Rin smirking as the took the chair.

"Unfortunately, you have neither the right to an attorney, nor the right to remain silent." Rin tented her hands in front of her face, Edge cocking a brow, "There's too much we don't know about you. You'll answer everything for us."

"Since when were we in a film noir?" Edge quipped.

"Everything huh?" Kuro mused, one eye open, particularly trained on Edge for whatever reason as he fiddled around with a butterfly knife.

"Why don't you start by telling us your name?" Rin requested.

"My name? It's Illya. Illyasviel von Einzbern."

"By the way, you don't have the right to lie either." Rin curtly said.

"She's not…" Edge sighed.

"Yeup. I haven't told a single lie." Kuro chuckled.

"I'm still not too sure, what's your objected?" Rin narrowed her eyes, the tan skinned girl looking amused by the skeptical look she was getting.

"Well, killing Illya, I guess." Kuro hummed.

"Then why don't you just hang yourself?" The serious tone Rin was using got a facepalm from Edge as he stopped fiddling with the knife, the other three looking at her with the same "seriously?" expression.

"Not me, the Illya over there." Kuro gestured with her head off to Illya, Rin sighing.

"Geez, it's getting confusing with too Illyas! Let's see… dark… Kuro! You're a dark Illya, so we'll call you Kuro!" Rin proclaimed.

"What am I a cat?" Kuro sighed.

" _Chloe sounds better if you're going to go by phonetic sound."_ Edge thought, his hand still on his head.

"So, why do you want to kill Illya?" Rin posed the question again, tapping her finger on the table, "Don't tell me it's some clichéd reason like wanting to erase the original, so you can be the true Illya."

"Wow, I'm surprised you knew." Kuro chuckled, though whether she was mocking Rin or being honest, it wasn't too clear, "Yeah, that's basically the reason why… and a thing or two involving Edge."

The last comment led to a moment of eyes going to Edge, the (technical) teen looking to the side with a bitter look.

"Don't ask me."

"O-kay then…" Rin murmured, "So, what are you?"

"Getting right to the core huh?" Kuro hummed, "I think it's a bit too early for spoilers though."

"No intention of talking huh? Oh, well."

"Huh? I thought you were going to ask me everything?" Kuro hummed.

"Oh I will." Rin added, going to the trunk at the back of the room, "But for now, let's go ahead and create a deterrent to separate you and Illya."

Lluvia then grabbed Illya, Rin pulled out a syringe and needle, and within the next moments, Illya let out a screech as blood was rather forcibly drawn from her arm, the girl tearing up as she covered the prick, Edge petting her head as she winced from the pain.

"That was mean…" Illya whined, Rin sighing as she pulled out a Petri dish with a few small rune stones in it.

"Relax, I only took a little blood. Magi do this all the time… some more than others." Rin specifically looked at Edge, the fact his right forearm had the wrappings it did of course marking her statement as she filtered the taken blood into the plastic dish.

"What do you plan to do?" Kuro asked, watching as Rin approached her.

"I told you…" Rin then took a drop onto the tip of her finger, "A deterrent."

Rin then proceeded to quickly draw a run onto Kuro's exposed midriff, Edge catching onto what was happening as Rin started chanting while forming a circle of blood, Lluvia guiding Illya's hand to the mark.

" _I get it… heh, simple, but effective choice in deterrent."_ Edge thought, a hand on his waist as he watched.

"Brand: Slaved to Shared Death!" Rin shouted, the room filling with violet light as Illya's palm touched the mark, Edge and Miyu shielding their eyes until the light died down, and once it had cleared, the mark on Kuro was sharper, clearer, like a tattoo rather than a finger drawn mark.

"A human blood seal… Maleficium?" Kuro growled, "What have you done?!"

"Slaved to Shared Death, actually a pretty simple Maleficium spell." Edge stated, softly grabbing Illya's arm, the girl confused, "Sorry about this Illya."

"What do you… OW!" Illya yelped when Edge pinched her, Kuro _also_ yelping in pain, Rin then tugging on Kuro's cheek, but only Kuro shouted in pain as Rin started doing more than just tugging and pinching on the captive girl, Kuro wincing as she was finally released, Illya blinking in surprise.

"As you've just seen, you two now share pain." Rin chuckled, "However, it only goes in one direction."

"Slaved to Shared Death is a Master/Servant type spell. Basically, when the master feels a strong sensation, usually pain, it's transmitted to the Servant, but only in that one way… so, if the Master dies, so does the Servant." Edge explained, Rin and Lluvia nodding to the statement.

"Exactly." Rin hummed, "It's a simple curse, but for that reason it's powerful."

"Yes, in other words, you are…" Lluvia chuckled, "Illyasviel's meat slave!"

WHAP!

"Not the right way to put it!" Edge snapped, Lluvia clutching the back of her head from where Edge's fist had impacted, Rin, Illya, and Miyu all nodding and bearing the same flat, shocked look.

 _ **Mansion Front**_

"We'll be keeping her in the cellar for now, and with the curse, there shouldn't be a chance Illya will be attacked now." Rin filled the news on the containment in to Edge and Illya as she escorted them out of the mansion, "But just in case, I'll give you both a Card… though not sure if Edge will need one."

Rin handed Illya the Lancer Card, and Edge the Saber Card, giving both the pointer finger as they took the items.

"If it comes down to it, don't hesitate to impale her or cut her in two! Hard!" Rin chuckled, Edge and Illya saying.

"Yay, violence!" Illya muttered, Edge pocketing the card, blinking as a drop of rain hit his nose, the two retreating across back to Illya's house, Illya sighing as they stopped at the door, "We still don't know anything about her."

"Besides what I managed to make a guess of…" Edge grumbled, Ruby flitting out.

"But it certainly seems she's a complicated character." Ruby quipped, "Maybe her hostility towards you is part of some grand scheme… but what I _really_ want to know what she had planned with Edge… perhaps more lewd things?"

"RUBY!" Illya snapped, her and Edge both getting red faced.

"Does anyone here remember we're ten?"

"You're fifteen pretty boy!" Ruby chuckled.

"Only technically!" Edge retorted, sighing as Illya opened the door, already pulling out his phone, though he and Illya looked at the lit living room as they heard Shirou talking with someone.

"Did onii-chan bring a friend over?" Illya hummed, glancing at Edge, who simply shrugged in reply, and when the two looked around the corner, they _immediately_ faulted when they saw Kuro (now in casual clothes) merrily chatting away with Shirou… who in no way seemed to be aware of the obvious facts differentiating Kuro and Illya.

" _She's loose!?"_ Edge and Illya collectively though, Edge hitting his forehead again.

" _I'm not surprised by this… no, I'm surprised how fast it took! Those two are frickin' useless!"_ Edge thought, _"And Shirou-senpai doesn't even notice! What the hell?!"_

"Edge, what do we do?!" Illya asked, Edge tapping his finger on his head.

"I've got nothing…" Edge hung his head, Illya yelping.

"I see how it is." Ruby hummed, Edge and Illya looking at the mystic code, "It seems Kuro has jumped to the next phase of her plan… I _think._ Now… to test…"

Ruby then flung Edge forward, the boy stumbling into the living room, Shirou blinking as the boy got to his knees, Edge nervously chuckling and giving a slight wave,

"Uh… hi there, Shirou-senpai!" Edge chuckled.

"Edge-kun, what are you doing here?" Shirou asked, Kuro chuckling with a glint in her eyes that Edge didn't miss.

"We were on our way home, and since it started to rain I invited him in. Edge was just calling someone so he was busy." Kuro completely played off the situation, smirking at Edge as he stood up, Edge bearing an… _odd_ smile on his face.

"Y-Yeah… that's totally the case here." Edge chuckled, _"ILLYA DO SOMETHING!"_

" _What should I do?!"_ Illya replied, Ruby allowing the communication between them as Edge sat on the other couch, Kuro sitting a bit _too_ close to Edge for Illya's liking, the talk continuing.

" _SOMETHING! I can at least keep this going!"_ Edge replied, "So uh, how have you been Shirou-senpai? Been a while since we last talked."

"I've been fine, thank you." Shirou replied, "But uhm… why are you two sitting so close?"

"Oh, ehehehehe… uhhhh…" Edge muttered, Kuro smirking again as she then grabbed Edge's arm, Shirou blinking and Illya's jaw dropping, while Edge felt his eye twitching.

"Oh we've gotten _much_ closer." Kuro chuckled, Edge's eye twitching.

"How does she mean that?" Shirou asked.

"Ahahaha… she's just kidding around is all… _right?!"_ Edge growled, Kuro smirking, and back around the corner, Illya was on her hands and knees.

"How could she? This is terrorism! And act to try and destroy a relationship!" Illya yelped, looking around back at the scene as Edge _tried_ to curb things… Kuro in no way making it easy.

"This is bad…" Ruby murmured, "This will completely interfere with Operation Love Interest if it keeps up at this rate!"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Illya murmured, "After what she did… she can't be forgiven!"

And back in the living room, Kuro suddenly yelped in pain, clutching her cheek and fumbling back, Shirou raising a brow in confusion, Edge pumping a fist.

" _Nice move Illya… sadly it involves pain."_ Edge thought, Kuro recovering from the sharp sting.

"Illya, are you okay?" Shirou asked, Kuro trying to play it off despite the mark that appeared on her cheek.

"Don't worry, I'm fi-HUAGH!" Kuro yelped as she was stun by pain _again,_ the girl rolling on the floor as the stings alternated between both sides of her face, "Illya?!"

"I feel so bad right now…" Edge murmured, Kuro getting up and looking between Edge and Shirou.

"GAGH! Great, this is throwing me for a loop…" Kuro sighed, then looking towards Edge, who started backing away as she lunged.

"ILLYA!" Edge snapped, a loud _thud_ sounding, _two_ shouts of pain being heard as Kuro fell to the ground like a heavy sack, and as if on cue, Rin and Lluvia ran in, "About time you show up!"

"Huh?! Tohsaka, and Lluvia?!" Shirou yelped, Edge's face becoming a expression simply conveying a bitter type of annoyance as Rin and Lluvia completely changed their tune the moment they saw Shirou, their faces red as beets.

"Sherou?" Lluvia gasped, Edge raising a brow at the mispronunciation.

"Emiya-kun?" Rin murmured, Edge sighing.

"OH COME ON! What now?!" Edge growled, the two teens grabbing Kuro and dashing out as fast as they could, "Sorry Shirou-senpai, uh… gotta do something!"

Edge, Rin, and Lluvia shot past Rin and Miyu as they kept the door open, the three stopping on the patio as the rain poured down, the teens sighing.

"That was close." Rin sighed.

"Who'd have thought that Sherou was Illya's older brother?" Lluvia hummed.

"Oh come on, you live across the street how did you _not_ notice?!" Edge grumbled, "And why the heck did she get out so fast?! Honestly how lax is your security?!"

"It wasn't that hard honestly." Kuro hummed.

"You're the guilty party here, shut it." Edge grumbled, "Geez, what'll it take for you to stay put then?"

"What are you doing?!" Rin yelped.

"Bargaining." Edge bluntly replied, "If it's reasonable, then I can keep an eye on her. Trust me, my house isn't easy to get in or out of by force… my butler is also my combat trainer for a reason."

"Something? Hmmm…" Kuro hummed, "I actually need to think on that one a bit."

"Greeaaattt…" Edge sighed, the door nearly hitting him as it flew open, Miyu rushing out in a hurry, _"What was with that?"_

 ** _The Next Morning_**

" _Why does my chest feel so heavy?"_ Edge thought, shifting his head on the (overly) soft pillow of the guest room he was occupying in the Edelphelt mansion (considering the previous nights rainstorm), and despite the soft mattress beneath him, he was feeling an odd weight on his chest… then the weight shifted. "Eh?"

Edge opened his eyes and he was immediately beside by another pair staring right at him, realizing it was _Kuro,_ the girl right on top of him and gleaning a smirk as Edge's face progressively turned into a burning scarlet color.

"Good morning." Kuro chuckled, Edge blinking in still surprise for a moment as things registered.

"AAAAGGGHHH!?" Edge shot back and his back slammed into the headboard, his eyes wide as Kuro sat up, revealing that she was _barely_ clothed in just a tank top and panties, "What are you doing in here?!"

"I didn't feel like sleeping alone. Besides, you _did_ say you would look after me." Kuro chuckled.

" _I should've guessed that would bite me in the ass…"_ Edge thought, pulling his hand down his face, then yelping when Kuro got right in his face, "Does personal space not mean anything to you?!"

"You're embarrassed, aren't you?" Kuro mused, Edge looking to the side, "Hey, how did it feel, when I kissed you?"

"What?" Edge muttered, "You mean when you drained my mana like a succubus?"

"That's mean." Kuro puffed out a cheek, "Come on, answer!"

"I don't have to answer a question if I don't want to. Now get off of me before I make you." Edge muttered, Kuro planting herself on his lap to keep him from moving, "Hey!"

"Alright then, answer _this_ question: What's it like having a mature body?" Kuro hummed, Edge blinking, and when he faced forward again, his eyes widened in shock as Kuro pressed her lips to his again, though thankfully for Edge, before _anything_ could progress beyond that much, the door creaked open.

"Edge, we'll be late if you… don't…" Miyu slowed to a stop as the door opened, blinking at the sight in front of her as Kuro let out a dejected sigh.

"Crap, and just as I was about to have some fun." Kuro sighed, Edge wriggling free, Miyu grabbing Kuro and nearly _throwing_ her out of the room, "HEY!"

"I knew we should have kept her restrained." Miyu murmured, shutting the door on Kuro, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, she only took a bit of mana this time." Edge muttered, his hand covering his mouth, "Question is why she takes mana in the first place. She's got a Card, shouldn't it act on it's own?"

"I'd be less concerned with that and ask why she's seemingly attached to you." Miyu hummed, "It's kind of odd. Other than wanting to kill Illya, her goal involves you too… for some reason."

"I… don't wanna know." Edge sighed, rubbing his forehead, "But I just have a _bad_ feeling for today."

 _ **Later in the morning**_

"And the bad feeling begins…" Edge sighed at the awkward air that was now in the Edelphelt limo after a… particular incident stemming from the fact Lluvia was now knowledgeable on the fact Shirou was Illya's older brother… and now the air in the car around Edge, Illya, Miyu, and Lluvia was just awkwardly quiet to the point it was palpable.

"What's with this awkward atmosphere?" Ruby spoke Edge's thoughts, the pale haired boy nodding to the Mystic Codes sentiment

"Nee-san, quiet." Sapphire murmured.

"Yesterday…" Miyu murmured, Illya yelping as the silence broke, Edge paying attention as well, "I'm sorry for surprising you like that."

"You don't have anything to apologize for!" Illya replied, Edge now bearing a confused look, "You just mistook him for your brother, right?"

" _Miyu has a brother?"_ Edge thought.

"I was a little surprised to learn that you have an older brother…" Illya could only resort to nervous laughing, falling silent as the atmosphere became even more awkward than before. "So, Miyu…"

"Illya…" Lluvia interrupted, "Everyone has difficulty talking to others about some things. No matter her past, she is now Miyu Edelfelt. That should be enough, shouldn't it?"

"Right…" Illya nodded, Edge giving a flat stare at Lluvia.

"Besides…"

"Here we go…" Edge murmured.

"One day your brother might become Shirou Edelfelt as well." Lluvia hummed, Illya's look going cross while Edge covered his eyes as Lluvia went off.

"She was rattling off about it all morning. Since I'm a pal of Shirou-senpai's Lluvia wants to _act_ like we're _actually_ related in some form… ugh, it's just nuts. I feel _very_ sorry for him though." Edge murmured, Illya's look remaining flatly cross, "And yet he and I are in a similar boat…"

"Hmm?" Illya hummed, Edge looking to the side, his face turning a light shade of pink.

"Nothing." Edge shook his head and gave a sigh again, _"I feel like things are only gonna get worse…"_

* * *

Adhering to Murphy's Law, everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

And wrong things did go as the magi trio entered class, only to be immediately beseeched by three fourths of Illya's circle of friends, all very angry, and looking rather traumatized.

"ILLYA!"

"Eh?" Illya hummed, Edge lifting a brow.

"Hey you, what was that all about?!" Tatsuko snapped in a rage, Illya yelping.

"I didn't think it was true Illya, but don't tell me…" Nanaki whimpered.

"You're free to have your own sexuality, but don't force it on others!" Suzuka added.

"Says the fujoshi!" Edge snapped in return, letting out a sigh and putting a hand on his hip, "Look, the hell are you three going on about anyway? Illya just _got here_ along with me an Miyu! I'd know, the two of us picked her up!"

"Technically Lluvia did." Miyu state.

"Point still stands." Edge clicked his tongue.

"Thank you." Illya nodded, "Really, what _are_ you three going on about?! What did I do?!"

" **What did you do?!"** The three angered girls growled, "HOW DARE YOU PLAY DUMB AFTER FORCING US TO KISS YOU?!"

"Oh no…" After hearing _that,_ Edge's mind _immediately_ registered who the three were talking about, "She's loose!"

"Kiss… force… three… four timing?!" Miyu murmured.

"Miyu don't misundersta- Why did you go from three to four!?" Illya yelped, Edge slapping a hand over Miyu's mouth as she was _about_ to say something.

"Do not make it worse!" Edge snapped, "Look, chill alright?! Again, Illya _just got here,_ it couldn't have been her!" Edge also had a twitch in his brow at that, _"When I find that girl…"_

As Edge was keeping the crowd back while Illya backed away, the two stopped when they bumped into their teacher, Taiga _also_ looking straightly traumatized, tears comically pouring from her eyes.

"Oh come on, not teacher too!" Edge groaned, his hand meeting his face, "Tch… that's it! Come on, I know who's behind thi-wait… where's Mimi?"

A sudden spurt of silence followed in the crowd…

 _SLAP_

"Oh you are kidding me?!" Edge growled, botling from the room, "Miyu, keep them from Illya!"

"Got it!" Miyu then grabbed a broom as the four victims lunged for Illya when she followed Edge, Illya looking back, "Go! I've got an idea who's behind this, and I'm sure Edge does too! He may need your help!"

"Uh… Sorry Miyu!" Illya yelped, catching up to Edge as he shot up the stairs, "Edge where are you going?!"

"The roof! Can't _believe_ they're actually that stupid!" Edge growled, Illya only confused as she followed Edge to the roof, the teen kicking the door wide open and hardly breaking stride as he skid to a stop, Illya panting behind him as Edge looked around.

"Slow… down…" Illya panted, "What are you… going on about?"

"Kuro, _that's_ what I'm on about." Edge stated, Illya flinching before hiding her face in realization, Edge sighing, "YO! KURO! I know you're up here, come on out!"

"Aww… just as I was about to have some fun~!"

Edge and Illya turned to see Kuro walk out of the corner, Illya raising a brow at the fact the tanned girl was wearing the school uniform, and behind Kuro was a dazed, about ready to pass out Mimi.

"Hehehe, points for finding me!" Kuro giggled, Edge pinching the bridge of his nose as he let out a long sigh. "Though I really didn't build much up, even _after_ draining several people…"

"Y'know, I thought that since one of the Cards made up your magical core, that you could produce mana on your own. I take it I was wrong?" Edge hummed, Chloe making a ding noise.

"Correct! Which is why I like _yours_ better. You've got _a lot_ of mana packed into that body." Kuro mused, coyly bringing her fingers to her lip, Edge folding his arms.

"While that's _true,_ I'm also smart enough to catch BS when I hear it. It's not just my body that's older than it should be." Edge tapped his thumb on his head to mark his point, "My age is all _kinds_ of whack up here."

"You _did_ figure out I need to drain mana… hmhm, you're a bit too smart for your own good." Kuro chuckled, and as Kuro drew just a _smidge_ closer to Edge, Illya's boiling anger finally snapped.

"WHY YOU!" Illya yelled, rushing over and landing a solid kick to Kuro's head, "You slanderous perverted woman!"

"HUGH!" Kuro yelped as she slammed into the fence, Edge wincing a bit as Illya shook in her anger.

"That had to hurt…" Edge murmured, checking Mimi, "Hmm, she's okay… just in shock from the sudden mana drain. Normal people aren't used to something like that… then again not like I'm one to talk."

"Oh don't drag yourself down… I'm sure you're a _great_ kisser… I was really low though, so I couldn't control myself or enjoy it." Kuro chuckled, stepping back and rubbing her face off, Illya's eyes twitching, Edge's look remaining cross.

"Wait, mana drain?" Illya muttered.

"It's the same thing she did to Edge!" Ruby clarified, "I _thought_ she was just a kiss-demon, but like Edge stated, she's been draining mana!"

"Exactly. I used up a bit too much in yesterday's combat, and that swamp didn't help much." Kuro stated, "I only got a bit from Edge sadly, a bit more and I'd have been fine… so I had to settle… but it's not as satisfying for some reason. I think it's because we have good compatibility~."

"I feel unnerved by that…" Edge muttered, a shudder passing through him as Illya blinked, then looking at Edge, who simply nodded.

"AGAIN?! And… good compatibility?! What do you mean by that?!" Illya snapped, feeling this weird… _urge_ rise up in her that had to be resisted, though Illya still found herself grabbing Edge by his forearm, Kuro chuckling at the gesture. "What are you storing up mana to do?"

"Who knows?"

"Well then let's get to a point." Edge murmured, rubbing his arm as he slid out of Illya's grasp, "Since you can't kill Illya without killing yourself, what are you planning to do?"

"I wonder…" Kuro chuckling, shooting a particularly lascivious smile towards Edge, Illya grabbing Ruby and trancing on the spot.

"Just cut it out! Since you appeared nothing good has happened!" Illya yelled, "Onii-chan, my friends, Edge… don't destroy my normal life further!"

"Even though you're just taking the normal life you were given?" Kuro coldly growled, Edge blinking at the statement and how Kuro looked _angry_ as she stared at Illya, light already flickering at her left hand.

"Huh? What?" Illya gasped, Kuro scoffing.

"'Everything bad is all my fault.' How nice that it's so easy to understand." Kuro's tone was the same as usual, but particular mocking and coming very close to angry, Edge stepping between her and Illya, his hand outstretched.

"Don't start anything! Honestly, a fight isn't going to solve a thing." Edge stated, _"Besides… what is she talking about? "Taking the normal life given to you"… what does mean by that?"_

"This is between us Edge, please step aside!" Kuro muttered, Edge standing firm, the tension in the air all too thick as things remained silent between the three from there…

And then the tension broke about as quick as the door slammed open again, Miyu tumbling out and ending up under a pile of Kuro's victims, Illya letting out a shriek of terror.

"I'm sorry Illya, Edge, I couldn't hold them back…" Miyu grumbled, Illya's eyes wide as she was being stared at by her friends, all of them in shock (aside from Taiga, who's face was in the pavement).

"Illya?"

"Oh here we go." Edge sighed, shaking his head as Illya was rapidly questioned… then Kuro was finally noticed.

"Wait, why are there two Illyas?!" Nanaki yelped, Edge sighing as he felt his end poit hit.

"ARE YOU ALL REALLY THAT DUMB?! Look at them, sure they have the same face but would you really believe Illya suddenly got a beach tan, dyed her hair lilac, _and_ started wearing color contacts?! Seriously what is this, a comedy skit?! They only look alike by their facial features!" Edge snapped, the bomb that was the logic of common sense making the three shocked girls and teacher fall silent… only for their noses to erupt into fountains of blood, "EH?!"

"Whoa! Edge dropped logic on them so quickly their minds couldn't handle it!" Ruby whistled to show that she was impressed by the feat, Edge's lip, eye, and fingers twitching from the sudden incident, though Taiga was the one to get up.

"There's no way there can be two Illya-chans, one has to be an outsider! Explain!" Taiga snapped.

"I JUST DID… kind of." Edge murmured, Miyu turning to Sapphire.

"Sapphire can you erase memories?" Miyu inquired.

"Yes but I don't suggest it." Sapphire responded, Illya continuing to panic, flipping between shaking Edge's arm and panicking near Miyu.

"What do I do? What do I do?!" Illya yelped, Edge pulling a hand down his face.

"Ahem." Everyone turned when Kuro cleared her throat, the girl giving a pleasant smile, "Everyone, I'm sorry for the commotion. I am… Chloe von Einzbern, Illya's cousin!"

"Weird… that was the name I thought of…" Edge hummed, Kuro, or rather, Chloe, shooting him a grin as if she _knew,_ and Illya was wide eyed and slack jawed in shock.

"I plan to transfer here next week, so I thought I'd get a look at the school." Chloe explained, "But it seems my greetings were too extreme for Japan. I'm sorry, everyone."

"HUH?!" Illya yelped.

"Well she's not wrong. In some European cultures a kiss is just another form of greeting." Edge stated, and despite his passive expression, his eyes told that he was mulling on something. _"What was she talking about earlier? Does it have to do with the Einzbern's themselves? Either or… there's got to be a reason behind it… and I have this feeling we're going to find out real soon."_

 **A/N**

 **Pheeeooo… this was fun. Again. Hehe, onwards with the visual novel levels of madness!**


	15. 2wei Chapter 5

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 15: Illya vs. Chloe, Round 3…**

The walk to school was quiet from all but Chloe's cheerful humming, Edge, Illya, and Miyu all staring daggers into the back of her head, though Miyu was as neutral looking as ever, while Edge was just wary looking.

"I don't understand how this happened." Illya sighed, Edge folding his arms.

"I believe it started _after_ last week's… incident." Edge muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

 _ **Afternoon after the… Incident. One Week Prior.**_

"What's going on?! Why didn't you keep her locked up properly?! Now my school life is all messed up!" Illya slammed her hands down onto the table, the kids at Lluvia's place once more, the elder teen showing a bit of confusion to Illya's statement.

"Illya, calm down!" Miyu cautioned, Edge messing with his butterfly knife again with a pensive expression on his face.

"What?" Lluvia asked, raising a brow as she looked between her juniors.

"Today, Kuro showed up at school." Miyu curtly explained, Lluvia's eyes widening a bit, "She called herself Illya's cousin, and said she'll be transferring in next week."

"A-also… she went around kissing all my friends!" Illya's lament was punctuated by her head being on the table, a _clack_ sounding as Edge stopping toying with the knife in his hand, pocketing it.

"And she picked out a name for herself. Chloe von Einzbern… well, least we don't have to refer to her like she's a cat." Edge murmured, Illya's head shooting right up.

"Why are you so calm?!" Illya yelped, Edge just blinking.

"What? It's only proper to use an actual name, so why not?" Edge responded, Lluvia sighing.

"My goodness. Our physical and magical locks on the cellar were perfect. Not even a single ant could have gotten past." Lluvia stated, Edge narrowing his look at her.

"Obviously it _didn't work."_ Edge grumbled, Lluvia shooting him a glare.

'Quiet! I'd like to know myself why she got past!" Lluvia spat, regaining her composure, "However tightly we locked her up, that girl broke free with ease. How did she…"

"There's no need to lock me up in the first place, is there?" Everyone turned to see Chloe having appeared, casually snacking on the same cake as the others.

"When did you…" Illya gasped.

"Why are you going out of your way to lock me up?" Chloe inquired, her hand hovering over her belly, "Thanks to this, I can't lay a hand on Ilya anymore. And it isn't like I want to hurt anyone. I just want to live a normal life, attending school like a normal ten-year-old girl. Is that too much to grant me?"

"Nghnghngh… how dare you spout such drivel?!" Illya growled.

"Illya, you're talking funny." Miyu pointed out, Edge giving a weird look at the sudden change in speech pattern.

"Very well." Lluvia stated, Illya gasping, "Besides, Edge _did_ offer to keep an eye on your himself. I suppose making him do so wouldn't cause me trouble… however! You are not to leave the premise of his home without permission or unless Edge accompanies you. You are not to harm others, and you are to act as Illya's cousin at all times. If you can uphold these promises, we can grant you your wish."

"Don't just throw this onto my shoulders because I offered." Edge muttered, Illya stunned silent at the mere thought of Chloe being _alone_ with Edge where she couldn't keep track… much less Chloe being around Edge at all truth be told. "Hagh, whatever. So?"

"Of course." Chloe chuckled, "As long as it means I can go to school."

"Lluvia, why?!" Illya gasped, Lluvia leaning down to Illya's ear.

"It's a form of negotiation." Lluvia stated, "This way, she won't do anything else that puts civilians in danger… that, and she's latched to Edge for some reason, so it's probably best if he keeps an eye on her, as at the least she actually seems to listen to him. At least for now."

"I heard that." Edge murmured, Illya looking at him, Edge sighing, his gaze moving to Chloe, "For now."

"Auguste!" Lluvia called out, her butler immediately responding to the summons, "Fabricate a family register, and complete the transfer paperwork. Same as you did for Miyu."

"As you wish. Everything will be completed within fourteen hours." Auguste responded and gave a bow.

"What's with this illegal sounding conversation?!" Illya yelped.

"Magi do stuff like this all the time. Forged passports, fake IDs, so on so forth. Keeping ones identity secret when traveling or entering an unknown area is important for a Magus… besides, stuff like that is easy to do when you've got enough money." Edge casually stated, Illya yelping again.

"Are you speaking from experience?!" Illya yelped, Edge reaching into his coat and flashing _four_ different passports, "WHAT?!"

"Official passport, and three fakes I use if needed." Edge stated, storing the items just as quickly as he'd drawn them out.

 _ **Present/Classroom**_

"And now we're here…" Edge muttered, _"I thank Albert and the maids… they've made sure Chloe didn't go and try anything sneaky this entire week. It at least seems she loses mana at a slow rate. Though when she_ does _need to replenish her supply… that's when I'm worried."_

Edge sighed for what had to be maybe the twentieth time that morning, Miyu and Illya turning to him.

"I take it dealing with her for a week has been difficult?" Miyu asked.

"Well… my butler and maids help out… but I'm more worried about when she's going to need to recharge on mana." Edge grumbled, leaning on the desk, glancing at the now _conveniently_ empty chair to his right, _"I swear someone sat here before…"_

"Besides, even if she goes to the same school, we'll be fine if she's in a different class!" Illya declared, Edge and Miyu looking at each other and then to the empty seat, "Come to think of it, both of you just transferred to our class."

"Uhm, Illya…" Miyu murmured.

"Illya don't jinx it. This stopped being a magical girl deconstruction since… never, actually. We're totally a visual novel based story." Edge rattled off, his mind suddenly drawing a blank, "Wait what?"

"What?" Miyu and Illya asked, the three suddenly forgetting that sentence, much less that previous moment.

"There's no way transfer students would join the same class after each other… AGAIN!" Illya declared, Edge sighing in response, Tatsuko showing up and stopping at the empty desk.

"Oh? Whose seat is this? Are we getting another transfer student again?" Tatsuko asked, completely unaware of Illya's now wavering smile.

"Plus, there could always be a mistake in the transfer papers!" Illya muttered, Edge and Miyu nodding in agreement that Illya was clearly in denial.

And, for better or worse, the convenience proved truthful, as Chloe indeed was the one to enter the classroom.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Chloe von Einzbern, but, you can call me Kuro!" Chloe introduced, Illya's expression flat as the other students starting murmuring, particular about the two girls' dead ringer resemblance (for the most part anyway).

"This is Illya's cousin." Taiga stated, swaying like a dumstruck schoolgirl… only to immediately get pegged by a book courtesy of a visibly annoyed Edge.

"ACT NORMAL!" Edge shouted, sitting back down as Taiga recovered from the blow, which also seemed to work at snapping her back to normal (thought the possibility of Edge escaping some kind of future punishment was surely impossible), Chloe walking past the others and taking her seat.

"Hmhm, I hope we can be friends." Chloe chuckled, though her pleasant expression bore that undertones to it, the magus trio all giving similarly suspicious looks.

* * *

"Okay why the heck am I the ref?" Edge's hand met his face again as he looked over the two teams in the yard… to his right, Illya, Miyu, and Chloe, and across from them, Shizuka, Tatsuko, and Nanaki, Mimi on the sidelines standing next to Edge.

"Because you're the only boy!" Shizuka declared.

"Even if you look like a girl!" Tatsuko shouted.

"I DO NOT LOOK LIKE A GIRL!" Edge snapped in reply.

"Hmm, I was wondering what it'd be, but dodgeball huh?" Chloe mused, Ilya hanging her head.

"Why me too?" Illya lamented.

"Shut up! If she's your cousin, you're an accomplice!" Tatsuko declared.

"Well, Miyu's just here to even out the teams." Nanaki added, Shizuka stepping forward.

"Team Kuro vs. Team Stolen First Kiss!" Shizuka shouted, Edge letting out a weird chuckle. "One-round match!"

"Know what, never mind, I'm glad I'm the ref." Edge kept chuckling, Mimi looking at him with a concerned, somewhat scared look.

"The losers become the underlings of the winners! So long as it doesn't violate public order and morals, any command will be absolute!" Shizuka stated the stakes of the match, yet another audible _slap_ sounding in the direction of Edge. "Are you okay?"

" _Why did she say that in English?"_ Edge thought.

"Underling huh? What would you order me to do?" Chloe hummed, fiddling with her side tail.

"Give me the pudding in your lunch!" Tatsuko declared.

"Let me copy your homework!" Nanaki shouted.

"Serve as the funnel for the Summerket." Suzuka had a dark aura around her.

"Wait, what is that Suzuka?!" Illya gasped, Edge sighing once more.

"Oh, why not?" Chloe mused, brushing her hair back a bit, "In exchange, if I win…"

"I'll give you my pudding!" Tatsuko.

"I'll do my homework myself!" Nanaki.

"I'll serve as funnel at-"

"The winning team gets the Ref to spend personal time with them!" Chloe declared, a moment passing.

"WHY AM I THE BETTING CHIP?!" Edge shouted.

"Oh, and you three will have to kiss me once a day." Chloe added, the opposing team gasping, though one could tell _that_ was more or less just to mess with the three girls.

"HEY! Don't just drop the first subject! I am a human being dammit, not an item to be bet upon!" Edge snapped, "I REFUSE TO BE USED AS A PRIZE! AND YOU THREE! NO TEAM INTROS, WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE!"

Team Stolen First Kiss immediately stopped in the performance they were starting, freezing mid pose as Edge glared them down, and almost as if on cue to the canceled intros, Taiga showed up, taking the field and giving an impassioned yell.

"Team Stolen First Kiss Member #4, Taiga Fujimura, is joining this match damn you!"

"Can we just get this shit overwith?!" Edge snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose… _then_ noticing the oddly _dark_ feeling in the air, "What the…"

It was like a sight out of an anime when the enemy is revealed as evil emanates from them, except that the subject was Illya, the pale haired girl standing stock still but emanating this dark aura from around her.

"Let's just get this started! I'm winning this!" Illya declared, Edge's eyes blanking out as it seemed any coloring he had just failed as Illya gritted her teeth, "Like heck I'm standing aside with what's on the line."

"Holy crap." Chloe whistled, "Once her switch gets flipped, I think Illya's desires are even more intense than mine."

"What does _that_ mean?" Miyu asked.

"Uggghh… Mimi… please just call the match to start… I can't take this madness." Edge handed the whistle off to Mimi, the normally presence-less girl nodding as she blew it.

"Now, start the match!" Mimi declared, "Team First Kiss will start with the ball!"

"You shortened it?!" Suzuka yelped.

"JUST PLAY BALL DAMMIT!" Edge yelled.

"Victory to the swiftest!" Tatsuko yelled, and despite the built up, her throw towards Illya was horribly weak… though Illya just let it bounce off of her, the twee of the whistle sounding.

"Illya, out!" Mimi declared, Chloe yelping.

"What the?! What are you doing going out so easily?!" Chloe snapped, Illya putting a hand on Chloe's shoulder.

"I don't have a reason to win here… well, under other circumstances I wouldn't. But I have a plan so _go with it._ We'll settle this between ourselves later. Lose, and I will hurt you!" Illya stated, Edge raising a brow.

"Did Illya have a personality shift or something? She's acting… decidedly scary." Edge murmured, something about the way Illya was suddenly acting ticking something in the back of his head for some reason as Illya walked off of the field.

"That was odd, but whatever. Even without you…" Chloe hummed, picking up the ball and bouncing it in her hand for a moment, smirking and then lobbing it _hard,_ nailing Taiga dead in the face and sending the teacher _flying_ back with blood spewing from her nose. "I can win by myself."

"That was just brutal." Edge murmured, a crowd gathering around their now comatose teacher, Mimi blowing the whistle again.

"Sensei, out. Please move outside the field." Mimi calmly declared.

"You're surprisingly calm Mimi!" Nanaki yelped, the kids then watching as Taiga was pulled off the field via stretcher, Edge letting out a small sigh again.

"This is just gonna get worse isn't it?" Edge murmured, the next to fall by Chloe's deadly throwing arm being Tatsuko after another pitiful throw, though she was saved from an out by Shizuka catching the following pop fly, and in the ensuing continuation, it was clear that Chloe was enjoying herself all throughout, it being less a match now and more Chloe taking the blinding lead, "Now what the heck did Illya mean earlier when she said she had some kind of plan?"

Edge mulled over that for a moment, keeping an eye towards Illya as she watched, though he could faintly see Ruby drifting out and begin to say something, his eyes going back to the game when Suzuka was sent out, leaving only Tatsuko to stand against Chloe.

"Damn it! Why are all the girls in our class with katakana last names so strong?!" Suzuka lamented.

"Oh no, the only one left on the field is Tattsun!" Nanaki gasped.

"Only the heir to the Gakumazawa dojo's Gakumazawa-style martial arts?"

"Only the weak Tattsun who tried to learn martial arts by mimicry, but had no talent for it?!"

"Why all the unnecessary personal information?" Miyu commented, Edge pinching the bridge of his nose while shaking his head.

"Ugh… it's almost kinda sad." Edge murmured, raising a brow when Illya stepped in front of Tatsuko when the short blonde charged, stopping her with an outstretched arm.

"Player rotation. I'll fight in Tatsuko's stead." Illya stated, a small smirk of her own showing, "That's fine, right?"

"Hmm? Is _this_ what you were planning? Ha, rather high handed of you." Chloe scoffed, "But that's fine… it means more underlings, and that I get Edge to myself."

"I did not agree to be the damned prize!" Edge objected.

"It's a one-on-one match." Illya seemingly ignored Edge's objection, continuing with her former stride, "If I lose, you can do as you wish. But, if you lose… you're leaving this school, and staying well away from Edge!"

"Why am _I_ part of this conflict? Honestly, _why me?"_ Edge hissed, the small gathering of those who were eliminated gasping.

"Th-This is turning into a really serious match!" The peanut gallery gasped.

"Illya, uhm…" Miyu approached Illya, the white haired girl raising a hand.

"I'm sorry Miyu. Step back for a while, okay?" Illya spoke, Miyu taking a moment longer before moving to where Edge and Mimi stood. "Is this a good idea."

"Not in the slightest." Edge bluntly responded, noting Ruby showing up again, "Why do I feel like this is partially Ruby's idea?"

The air then burst as Illya chucked the ball hard enough to make Chloe skid back a bit, Edge and Miyu noticing the sudden appearance of the pink feathers that marked Illya's Trance the moment before, Edge and Miyu both letting out small noises, sensing the impending chaos.

"I won't let you say it's cheating." Illya muttered, Chloe raising a brow, "After all, your existence itself is practically against the rules."

"That's pretty bold of you." Chloe remarked, "All right. I won't hold back either. I'll send you flying!"

And thus began what could only be described as the generation of a death zone as Illya and Chloe continually shot the ball (which was somehow withstanding the sheer force it was being put under) back and forth at speeds faster than the non-magically inclined could properly keep track of.

"I _would_ stop this… but my survival instincts are saying otherwise." Edge muttered, a hand over his eyes.

"Every single time, you always get in my way. I don't even understand you!" Illya's shouting caught Edge's attention, the boy deciding to tune in to get an idea for himself what was going on… hopefully.

"How dare you say that when you haven't ever tried to understand me?!" Chloe retorted, "You're throwing a tantrum like a child!"

"I-I am a child!" Illya spat back, "And so are you!"

"You really are immature. You can't even tell Edge how you feel! And it's no wonder why your brother has it so hard!" Chloe's next throw was caught hard, Illya growling as she skid back.

"Sh-Shut up… Shut up!" Illya shouted, rearing back for another lob, "You're just my fake!"

"A fake, huh?" Chloe muttered, Edge catching how she'd fallen silent and clenched a fist as the ball came careening towards her, "I wonder which of us that is!"

Chloe returned the ball by straightly punching it, Illya yelping as it came right back and slammed her dead in the face, Illya falling back with blood spewing from her nostrils, out cold as she hit the dirt.

"ILLYA!" The others yelped, Edge looking to Chloe as the girl lurched over, blood dripping from her nose.

"Ugh… I forgot… we share pain." Chloe realized it too late as she herself passed out, Edge letting out a breath as the whistle was blown, the others grabbing the unconscious girls and immediately running off, Edge glancing back to see Caren watching from the window of the infirmary, the young woman turning away as she noticed Edge looking right at her.

"Time to deal with the weird nurse again huh?" Edge murmured, following after the running crowd, tugging at the wrappings on his arm as he mulled over things, _"This is all just so absurd… but, I wonder what's really going on. Chloe heard "fake" and reacted so angrily. So just what the heck is going on here? Heck, the biggest question is the fact Illya isn't aware what the Einzberns_ are… _this definitely has something to do with them… and if it has to do with the Einzberns, does it mean this has some link to the old Grail Wars?"_

Edge rubbed his arm as those thoughts rose up. The Grail War was something that hadn't been held in over two decades by this point, and while the Einzbern's were a reclusive family, Edge was well aware of their involvement in the ritual. It was the reason he'd been born after all. A mage born with the power to fight, and win such an event.

"Whatever… I'm probably just overthinking things." Edge sighed, pocketing his hands, stopping when he passed Chloe, the girl stopping herself.

"Illya is fine if you want to know. Not like it was anything serious." Chloe stated.

"It's not Illya I'm worried about. Well… partially." Edge murmured, "Chloe, I'm not sure if I'm overthinking this, but is there any particular reason you reacted like you did to being called a fake?"

"What makes you say that?" Chloe asked, Edge catching her hands fighting their grip around her arms, bunching the cloth of her uniform.

"You know well enough I'm aware of the exact nature of the Einzbern family. It's bothered me for a bit, why Illya was unaware of her magical abilities. So, let me ask this… that was you, during the fight with Saber, wasn't it?" Edge inquired, Chloe blinking, turning and seeing how Edge was leaning on the wall.

"If it was?"

"Then it begs the question… have you _always_ been around?" Edge inquired, Chloe tilting her head. "I don't think any of us are ever going to figure out why you appeared, so I'll ask… have you always been around, dormant inside Illya's mind until recently?"

"Again… what makes you ask that?"

"Chloe, I was _bred_ to be as strong as I am. Everything about my birth was meant for one sole purpose: To fight in and _win_ a Holy Grail War. But then, ten years ago, on the verge of the 4th Heaven's Feel ritual to begin the Grail War anew, suddenly, the Einzbern family, who oversaw the ritual, went quiet, and not a word has come from them since." Edge explained, "And then by sheer chance, when my dad sent me here to continue my training, I met Illya, an Einzbern. So I think you can make some sense out of my confusion about all of this."

"Look, I don't get much of this myself. I just want to live a normal life, and be a normal girl. Nothing more."

"Chloe, neither of us are normal." Edge muttered, "And you know it. "Normal" isn't something those of us who can and _do_ use magic are allowed to have."

"We'll have to see." Chloe muttered, continuing on her way, Edge letting out a sigh and continuing on his way until he reached the infirmary, thankfully for now empty of all but Caren and the still sleeping Illya.

"Hmm? Oh, you." Caren murmured, swiveling in her chair, "What do you want? Here to see the girl?"

"No… it's not Illya I'm here to see." Edge stated, Caren letting out a hum, "Here's the gist Ms. Ortensia, I've had another prickle in my neck since I met you… and I learned it's usually best to trust that… and that prickle is telling me you're more aware of what's actually going on than you let on."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Caren replied, Edge walking over to her desk and slamming the Saber card down onto it, Caren staring at it closely.

"Really? Because I don't see why a 17 year old girl with an obvious sadistic streak would be hired as a school nurse for normal reasons." Edge stated, Caren sighing.

"You're going to be persistent about this, aren't you?" Caren inquired, Edge's steely gaze answering for her, "Of course. You Colthearts are annoyingly persistent in things once you set a goal."

"It's one of our better traits." Edge added.

"I beg to differ." Caren sighed, "But, I suppose that since you're unaffiliated, it's safe."

"Safe for what?"

"Truth be told… you're completely right. I know fully well what's happened in this city, ever since these Cards showed up. The Mage Association wasn't the only ones concerned with them." Caren stated, picking up the Saber card and turning it in her hand.

"The Church… not surprised actually. I take it you're representing them?" Edge inquired, Caren nodding and setting the Card down.

"I was sent to watch, and if things went awry, step in myself. But only if collecting these went downhill." Caren bluntly replied, Edge pocketing the card, "Though the Coltheart heir showing up wasn't exactly part of the plan."

"Of course it wasn't. Not like the Association knows I was involved anyway. Rin and Lluvia kept shut about it, thankfully."

"Considering how much your father and the Association fail to get along, no wonder."

"Funny."

"Then let's do the same. I keep quiet about you being involved in our business, and you don't tell your friends the truth about me." Caren stated, it being less an offer and more her stating what was going to happen next, Edge getting this particular feeling that if he disagreed or _did_ rat her out, whatever would befall him would not be pleasant.

"Is that a suggestion or a threat? Because I feel like it's a threat.

"It could be." Caren stated, sipping on her tea, "So?"

"Hagh… fine, I'll keep quiet about this." Edge relented, glancing to the shrouded infirmary bed where Illya was as he turned, "I suppose this also means that now I've gotta help _you_ out too?"

"Not really. I'm just keeping an eye on things. I could care less about anything else." Caren responded, "Though I am curious about something, Coltheart kid… you have any clue why those two girls had similar bruises?"

"No idea." Edge stated, leaving, Caren humming.

"Hmm… eh, I won't bother adding that… to much trouble."

 **A/N**

 **Further and onwards! Ahh man I have too much fun with this fic. Hehehehe.**


	16. 2wei Chapter 6

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 16: Einzbern**

"Hiyaaagh!"

 _CLANG!_

 _SHING!_

Edge skid back as Albert pushed his blade aside with an every casual swing of his arms, the butler spinning his daggers back into a reverse grip, Edge letting out a steady breath before lowering the weapon in his hands, Albert nodding.

"And that ends today's training. Nicely done young master." Albert chuckled, Edge clicking his tongue as the sword, which instead of a Replica, was instead a Projection, vanished with a flick of his wrist, "And I must say, your Projection skills have improved quite drastically from where they were before."

"Yeah… they have." Edge murmured, flexing his right hand, trying not to dwell on it, since thinking about the Archer card only led to thinking about Chloe and the unease surrounding the girl. Edge simply let out a sigh as he decided to divert his thoughts, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the Saber Card, "Wonder if the same thing would happen if I use this one… and if it has to do with how… _different_ I've felt since fighting Berserker."

"Hmm?"

"Uh, nothing." Edge murmured, pocketing the Card, _"I doubt Albert could explain this change I'm feeling. I feel stronger, lighter… more in tune with mana too… but then, there's those flashes I see. I've even seen them here in this compound. Are these glimpses at past Grail Wars, or something else?"_

"Young Master, you have a troubled expression on, are you sure you're fine?" Albert asked, Edge nodding, running a hand through his hair.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Edge nodded, "Thanks as always for the practice."

Edge left on that note, though instead of heading back into the main building of the compound, he instead skirted around the side of it to the shed, sliding the door open into the concrete floored, pipe covered structure.

And here he saw a brief flicker of things. Figures that were there and gone so fast he couldn't properly see them, flickering into existence for a brief moment almost like a "glitch" in reality itself, a dull, buzzing feeling behind his right eye as well, Edge covering the eye with a hand.

"So, you see those flashes too, don't you?"

Edge glanced back to spot Chloe leaning on the entrance of the shed, the girl giving a curious glance at Edge as he tilted his head, Chloe sighing in response.

"I've had the same thing happen. I go to certain spots and it looks like reality glitches for a moment, showing something that's not there, or maybe something that was. I've surmised it has to do with me being constructed from a Heroic Spirit, so maybe I'm seeing what he saw as one. This city was the sight of every Grail War after all." Chloe stated, folding her arms, "Though I don't get why _you_ would see those flashes too."

"That's what I'm curious about." Edge muttered, flexing a hand, "Ever since the battle with Berserker, I've felt different, like part of me isn't actually "here" anymore, but at the same time, something more is in it's place… and I feel like it has to do with the Cards. Being able to use the Archer Card's thaumaturgy for one. Projection magic can only be used on weapons or items you've seen before, essentially, you're just drawing the mental image out from your memories, which is why Projections tend to be inferior to the genuine item."

"I get that much. Sure I don't exactly know _how_ these powers work, I just know I have them, and that they belong to the Heroic Spirit of the Archer Card. And yet…" Chloe stepped off of the entrance, stepping to Edge and getting right in his face… which wasn't easy considering he was a head taller than her. "You can use the same abilities _without_ the card _and_ have stronger Projections… not to mention, that Excalibur, which is more a Noble Phantasm than a Replica or Projection. You're not ordinary."

"Of course not, I'm a magus of the Coltheart bloodline. I couldn't be ordinary even by magi standards." Edge muttered, his hand going to the his choker, the ever bitter, permanent reminder of the previous restrictions on him. "Not like I can remove this collar if I wanted to."

"Right… the Key binds itself to it's holders magic circuits unless an unbinding spell only your family knows is performed, right?" Chloe hummed, looking closely at the gem embedded in the metal of the choker, "And up until now the thing was like a parasite that harmed your body if you went overboard… and yet, ever since the Berserker battle, it's been weirdly quiet."

"Frankly it unnerves me you know all of that."

"Blame the Card… it's powers have made me pretty good with analyzing things at a glance, be them normal items of even a Mystic Code." Chloe lowered to her feet, turning around and exiting the shed, "Well, I'm gonna go to Lluvia's place."

"Eh? Lluvia said you're not supposed to leave the grounds unless I'm with you." Edge stated, Chloe snickering.

"Oh don't worry that cute face off about me. I'll be there and back easy. I just like the bath they've got there more is all." Chloe was gone before Edge could stop her, the boy letting out a sigh as he put his hands on his hips.

"I've got one of those bad feelings again." Edge grumbled, stretching his arms, then his look went flat when he felt his jacket start getting tight as he stretched, "This has finally gotten too small for me huh?"

* * *

"Hmm, hmmmm…. AHA! This one!"

Edge chuckled as he plucked out one of the newer jackets from his closet, the replacement choice being a training jersey type jacket with a white body and black arms, throwing the new one on and nodding at the better fit as he tugged the sleeves up to his wrists.

"Hehe, this one's better, lighter too." Edge chuckled, then turning to his desk when his phone started buzzing and blaring off it's ring tone, Edge picking the item up, "Huh? Lluvia? What the hell does she want now?"

" _EDGE! WHY DID YOU LET HER LOOSE!?"_ Lluvia's voice came screaming over the line, Edge letting out a groan.

"Great, I knew something was gonna happen." Edge grumbled, "What happened now?"

" _You know what happened! Kuro showed up here first off! Did you seriously just let her go free without supervision?!"_ Rin's voice came up next, Edge pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Sorry, this one's my fault."

" _DAMN RIGHT IT'S YOUR FAULT! Now we have to catch her again!"_

"Relax Rin, geez." Edge grumbled, leaning back on the wall, "We can find her tomorrow… besides, I got a feeling Chloe isn't just gonna be quiet either."

" _Fine, but next time keep a better eye on her!"_

"Yeah yeah…"

* * *

 _ **Classroom**_

"So she didn't show up huh?" Edge hummed, glancing at Illya, "Illya, you can stop shaking."

"I have to be on guard!" Illya replied, very firmly holding one of the bookcases and the edge of the windowsill, "She's probably plotting my death somewhere right now!"

"She feels your pain every time you get hurt, so I doubt it." Miyu added, turning to Edge, "Did your search last night find anything?"

"Nope." Edge sighed, "Probably keeping herself concealed."

"Oh yeah, she _does_ feel my pain." Illya hummed, folding her arms, "But still, she's always acting so selfish, and I can never figure out what she's thinking!"

"Illya, Kuro is-GAGH!" Miyu was cut off when a _backpack_ came flying at her head, knocking her to the side and out cold, Edge and Illya yelping.

"Miyu?! Are you okay?!" Illya yelped.

"SUMMER! IS IT SUMMER YET?!" Tatsuko's voice came shouting out, the short girl on top of a desk, attempting to yank off her shirt, "IS IT SUMMER YET?!"

"She's having another episode…" Suzuka sighed, Edge's head meeting his desk.

"Will someone do something about her?!" Nanaki shouted.

"On it!" Edge shouted, Illya tossing him a nearby cardboard box, Edge proceeding to slam it down on Tatsuko's head, his hand firmly planted on the top of it, Tatsuko freezing in place, "Calm your jets, geezus."

"Sh-She calmed down." Suzuka hummed, a hand on her chin.

"I never knew there was such an effective method." Nanaki mused.

"Never underestimate the usefulness of a cardboard box." Edge's matter-of-fact tone was accented by his serious expression and his folded arms, Tatsuko's hair antenna sprouting the box, the girl starting to shuffle around, Illya sighing.

"Jeez, what's gotten into you?" Illya inquired, her friends sighing.

"Sorry, sorry…" Suzuka responded, "But remember how we talked about going to the beach together?"

"And the first day of summer break is your birthday, right, Illya?" Nanaki added.

"So, we discussed going on that day, and having your birthday party at the same time." Suzuka stated.

"Huh? Really?!" Illya excitedly gasped, Edge humming.

"That's a pretty good idea actually. Two birds with one stone." Edge hummed, a hand on his chin. _"For the sake of this I'll just neglect mentioning my birthday is literally the day before then."_

"Miyu, Edge, you'll come too, right?" Mimi asked.

"Count me in. Haven't been to the beach in ages, sounds fun." Edge chuckled, _"Though once again for a situation like this I'll say we'd all be better off as middle schoolers… then again I'm already a high school grad in America, so the hell am I saying?"_

"S-Sure." Miyu nodded.

"Me, Tatsuko, Nanaki, Mimi, Illya, Miyu, and Edge." Suzuka counted off, giving a hum, "Adding Kuro makes eight."

"Huh? W-We're inviting her too?" Illya asked, Edge sighing.

" _Here we go…"_ Edge thought, a hand moving to cover his eyes.

"Hey hey, don't exclude her!" Suzuka piped up, "I know she's a big trouble maker, but she's a friend, right?"

"'Friend' spelled as 'r-i-v-a-l'!" Tatsuko piped up, still wandering around wearing the box on her head.

"That that thing off already." Nanaki quipped.

"We'll be sure to tell her if we see then." Edge spoke up, Illya glancing at him.

"Sounds good then!" Suzuka chuckled.

"Yeah… right." Illya murmured, Miyu and Edge glancing at Illya than each other, bits of concern evident on both of their expressions…

* * *

"I need to find something to occupy myself in class with, these lessons are too easy." Edge let out a sigh as he finished tying his sneakers, the end of day bell just concluding it's ring, Illya chuckling as she slipped her own shoes back on.

"You really are smart Edge. I didn't think anyone could solve that one." Illya chuckled.

"That was just basic multi-variable multiplication… it's not that hard." Edge quipped, he and Illya noting Miyu just standing stock still at her locker.

"Illya, you go on ahead, there's somewhere I want to stop by today." Miyu stated, Edge shrugging when Illya looked at him.

"Sure…" Illya murmured, though as Edge stood to leave, Miyu grabbed his jacket's sleeve, stopping him in his tracks.

"Though… Edge, can you follow me for a bit too?" Miyu requested, not turning away from her locked, Edge glancing to Illya, who after a brief moment of looking… odd, just sighed and carried on, giving a small wave.

"Sure, no problem." Edge replied, the walk out an in a different direction from the school completely silent, Edge feeling this tenseness in the air around Miyu, it being even more evident when they reached a park, Miyu stopping at the entrance, "So, a park huh?"

"Edge… I'm sorry." Miyu murmured, Edge blinking, only for the next moment to have him lashed with a binding spell, Miyu holding Sapphire in her stick form, Edge stumbling and hitting the fence.

"OW! Miyu, what the heck?!" Edge snapped, yelping when Miyu reached into his pockets and swiped the Saber card, "Hey! Miyu, what're you doing? What's this about?!"

"Again… I'm sorry… Sapphire, start a transfer spell." Miyu stated, the stick shifting.

"Are you sure Lady Miyu?" Sapphire asked, the girl nodding, "I do apologize Master Edge… I hope you'll forgive me!"

"Wait what? Miyu what're you…" Edge was cut off when the spell activated, and next he knew, he was stumbling to the floor of the foyer of the Edelfelt mansion, the binding spell breaking as he winced, "Ow… what the hell was that about? Why would… oh shit…"

Edge shot to his feet and rushed out of the mansion, hopping the wall and doing the same to land in the yard of Illya's house, braking to a halt and, for point of restrained, knocking as civilly as he could manage without betraying he wasn't exactly calm either.

Though then the door flew open, Edge yelping as Illya rushed out and nearly crashed into him, the boy's reflexes to be thanked for avoiding it, the two stuck in surprise as Illya came to a halt.

"Edge?! Weren't you with Miyu?" Illya yelped.

" _Was,_ yes. But, she went off to find Chloe, and she swiped the Saber card, so she's intending to fight!" Edge stated quickly, Illya blinking, Ruby humming.

"Looks like we were right, Illya. If that's the case then we need to hurry!" Ruby stated, Illya nodding.

"Where did they go?" Illya asked.

"Miyu led me to the forest district." Edge responded, Illya nodding, immediately trancing and leaping off, Edge moving out onto the street, letting out a breath, "Well, she's in as much of a rush as I am… well, that's fine, I'll just follow!"

Though _just_ as Edge was about to take off himself, a car came screeching to a halt in front of the house, nearly hitting the poor boy to boot as he jumped to the side, the passenger side window opening up, which to Edge's surprise was on the right side of the car as opposed to the left side of it, the driver being revealed, the (technical) teen blinking in surprise to see the driver was a woman who looked _astoundingly_ similar to Illya, it not being farfetched to say she was downright an older version of the girl.

"Oh my, seems I arrived a bit _too_ late." The woman hummed, Edge still looking surprised, "Ah! You must be that boy my daughter told me about."

"W-Wait… you're Illya's mom?!" Edge yelped, the woman nodding, "D-Did you see w-what happened?"

"Of course I did!" The woman replied, Edge's face draining of color, "Well? You're going to follow my daughter right? I can give you a ride if you'd like."

"Oh, uh, no, don't worry, I can get there…"

"Oh don't be stingy! We can talk on the way!"

"Wait-WAAAGH!"

The door to the passenger side flew open, and next Edge knew, he'd been yanked into the passenger seat, the woman already tearing off, Edge letting out a scream as he scrambled to buckle in as the woman tore down the road at top speed, all the while looking whimsically calm.

"U-Uh ma'am, I-I'm pretty sure driving this fast in town is both illegal and _highly dangerous!"_ Edge shouted, grabbed the seat for dear life.

"Oh don't worry, we'll catch up in no time like this!" The woman chuckled.

"That's the least of my concerns right now Mrs. Einzbern!" Edge snapped, his eyes wide and his body rigid as the car kept careening through the town, "HOW ARE YOU GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!?"

"Oh don't worry, it's fine." The woman chuckled, Edge's expression showing he wasn't reassured in the slightest, "So, while we're on the way there, would you like to engage in some back and forth questions?"

"HUH?!" Edge yelped, "L-Look, ma'am, now might not be the best… GAAAGH YOU'RE GONNA KILL BOTH OF US!" The woman simply kept a smile on as she continued the screamingly fast drive, Edge letting out another scream, "Actually… I've got one… you're not surprised with what you saw right?! Does any of this have to do with why the Einzbern's went silent over a decade ago? I mean they were reclusive before but… AGH!"

"Getting right to the point huh? Hehe, Illya _did_ say you were a direct person." The Einzbern woman chuckled, Edge blinking at the mention of Illya telling the woman about him, "Well, she said quite a lot about you actually!"

"That's… beside the point right now! PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SLOW DOWN!" Edge shouted.

"Oh! I completely forgot to introduce myself back there! As you guessed, I'm Illya's mother, Irisviel von Einzbern. It's nice to meet you, Edge Coltheart." The woman introduced, Edge still too busy freaking out to respond properly beyond a nod, "And as for your question, well, I don't feel like answering it right now."

"You're the one who suggested we do a back and forth questioning!" Edge snapped, Irisviel just chuckling as she then swung into the park area, Edge holding on even tighter to keep himself in place.

"Well, since we're on the topic, might I ask what your opinion of my daughter is?" Irisviel inquired, Edge blinking.

"What I think about Illya… well…" Edge murmured, starting to dwell on it, but then screaming again as the car launched over an edge, the boy still screaming as Irisviel brought the car slammed into the ground nose first, slamming into the dirt and screeching around, the back end hitting a tree before finally stopping, Edge letting out a low sound as his eyes became dazed swirls, Irisviel meanwhile, trying to jimmy open the door.

"Sheesh, I come home after so long and you aren't home…" Irisviel sighed, Edge getting past his daze enough to lean over and see out of the windshield, spotting Illya, Miyu, and Chloe staring at the car in shock, "I used my intuition to look for you, and found you surprisingly easily. Huh? It won't open?"

"You _did_ just crash… ugh… god I think I'm gonna throw up…" Edge let out a pained groan, covering his mouth as Irisviel kept jimmying with the handle on her door, eventually settling on just kicking it open, yanking Edge out with her, the boy collapsing to his knees, "Ground… safe, solid ground… thank god…"

"Yoo-hoo! I'm home Illya!" Irisviel chuckled, Edge slowly managing to stand.

"Illya… your mom is insane…" Edge muttered, Irisviel only chuckling as he started leaning on the car to keep himself standing, the girls however too surprised to respond to the boy.

"M-M-M-Mama?!" Illya gasped.

"Dinner's almost ready, so I came to pick you up." Irisviel chuckled.

"BULL! You got there just as we left… ugh… god I feel sick from that car ride…" Edge put a hand over his mouth again, curling up on the ground in attempt _not_ to barf his guts out, though Irisviel seemed more intent with Chloe as she noticed the tan skinned girl.

"Oh? Oh my, Illya, when did you become a twin?" Irisviel hummed, stepping over to her still confused daughter.

"Th-This is a c-copy cat…" Illya murmured, Chloe shaking her head, rushing past Miyu's drawn sword, Illya blocking the attack and pushing the doppelganger back. "W-What are you thinking? Why attack mama?"

"I've missed you, mama." Chloe bitterly said, Edge stepping forward and between the altercation, "My lovely mama, who erased me from existence ten years ago!"

"Ten years ago… what do you…" Illya murmured, Edge swatting aside the swords Chloe threw.

"Kinda glad I'm running on adrenaline right now…" Edge hissed, shaking a bit as the rapidly projected sword in his hand shattered into light, Chloe projecting her bow and drawing an arrow, Edge giving a hiss, "Rho Aias!"

The phantasmal shield bloomed to life as Chloe fired, a moment passing in surprise as Edge saw there was a new "petal" included in the bloom, the shield holding form against the arrow, Edge dismissing it as Chloe landed, the girl attempting to project a new weapon, but the light fell short and faded.

"Guess she's out of mana… makes this easier." Edge murmured, leaning on his knees as a sick feeling hit him again, "Because I can barely stand right now…"

"Why? Why are you attacking mama?" Illya demanded, stepping to the front of things, aiming her staff at Chloe. "This is crazy! Do you realize what you're doing?!"

"You don't… you don't understand…" Chloe grumbled, some surprised looks showing at her downtrodden expression, "You don't understand how I feel."

"I understand." Irisviel stated, walking forward towards her other girl, "At least, I understand that you feel sad."

"Mama, no, it's dangerous!" Illya objected, her mother proceeding forward anyway.

"It's alright, come here, Illya!" Irisviel gave a warm, motherly smile as she spread her arms, Chloe growling and shooting forward… then strings of light appeared from the woman's hands, Edge's eyes going wide as the strings then formed a giant fist right above Chloe, "But before that… I think you need some discipline!"

The fist slammed into the ground with enough force to smash it, the next thing being seen, as Miyu, Illya, and Edge were in so much shock processing things just became moot, Irisviel was poking the out cold Chloe's cheek.

"You call that discipline?!" Edge shouted, Irisviel chuckling as she glanced at the boy, "Don't keep that sweet smile on after doing something like that!"

"Fighting is bad. Swinging deadly weapons around to fight is out of the question." Irisviel's scolding may have been said towards the dazed Chloe, but it felt as if she was talking to the other three at the same time.

"M-Mama, what was that?" Illya asked, her mother turning to her.

"Oh right, in these situations I need to punish both!" Irisviel chuckled, another fist of strings forming, Illya starting to cower… before in turn being smashed into the ground herself, Edge and Miyu staring at Irisviel in mixes of shock and fear as the woman kept about her pleasant grinning. "So, since you two are here, would you mind helping me with my daughters? You must be Miyu, right?"

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Miyu answered, exiting out of the Install, averting her eyes from Edge's as she caught the Card.

"Good. Is it fine if we go to your place? I'd like to clean these two up, and I heard something happened to our bath." Irisviel mused, Miyu only nodding, "Thank you! Edge, please put them into the car if you would. You should easily be able to lift the two of them."

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Edge yelped, _"Today just isn't my day."_

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Whew! Finally, been too long since I worked on this one! Hehehe, but OH the fun begins with Irisviel showing up! Granted uh… things will only get more hectic for Edge what with his Fate protagonist curse… hehehehe.**


	17. 2wei Chapter 7

Fate/Kaleid Liner Coltheart

 **Chapter 17: Revelations**

Edge gave a sigh as he leaned on the wall outside the bath room (more like indoor hot spring) of the Edelfelt mansion, sliding down to his rear and tugging at a strand of hair.

"Well… least the lugging of unconscious bodies is over…" Edge murmured, leaning on a hand, glancing at the door to his right, _"But… I'm definitely going to miss out on whatever is going to be said in there… Mrs. Einzbern definitely knows something… gugh… sometimes I feel like I'm just kinda_ here."

Edge hung his head as he gave another sigh, glancing up as the door clicked, yelping when, as soon as it opened, blue threads of light moved out and lashed around him, next Edge knew, a hand was slapped over his mouth, Irisviel shushing him, the boy's face horribly red as it was revealed the woman was _of course_ in nothing but a bath towel.

"Shhhh! I figured you'd want to hear what's going to be discussed." Irisviel stated, Edge nodding, "Good. But, you _are_ a boy, so for the decency of the girl's, I'll need you to wear a blindfold, okay?"

Edge nodded again, Irisviel producing a black length of cloth from… somewhere… and sticking it around Edge's eyes.

Only… the item was completely see through.

"Hey what's with-hmmmphhh!" Edge was silenced again by Irisviel clamping her hand back over his mouth, and despite the pleasant expression one could feel a sort of scheming air behind the smile.

"Just sit here and listen ok? You can give input, but don't come out." Irisviel stated, sauntering off and leaving Edge sitting there in the bindings, the boy sighing as he hung his head, irked with the fact the woman was _clearly_ messing with him.

But, the chance to at least know what was actually going on here wasn't one to be passed up, so Edge scooted over to the nearest corner that still allowed him to actually see what was going on… and it did make him somewhat glad he and Irisviel were likely the only ones who knew the blindfold was in fact completely see through.

" _Well at least I won't suffer any undue retaliation for no good reason like_ most _characters in my position."_ Edge thought, rolling his eyes and peering over, Illya and Chloe bursting out from beneath the water with in synch splutters and yells, Edge feeling rather glad there was steam obscuring things.

"Where are we?" Illya looked around in surprise, Miyu sighing at the whole debacle.

"Why are we in the baths?" Miyu asked, glancing at the (seemingly) blindfolded Edge, the boy glancing around to play dumb like he actually _couldn't_ see anything.

"Good morning, both Illyas! I know the water's hot, but are your heads cooler?" Irisviel chuckled, Illya yelping as she spotted the restrained Edge, "Oh don't worry, I tied your cute little boyfriend up and blindfolded him, he won't see a thing!"

"M-Mama! I-It's not like that!" Illya yelped, Edge sighing and hanging his head.

" _The sad part is the blindfolded part is a bold-faced lie…"_ Edge muttered, then getting _back_ on the actual point, "Mrs. Einzbern you _do_ remember we're ten, right?! It's _way_ too early to be calling that kind of thing… then again I'm only legally ten…"

"My heads cooled… or more like my head can't keep up with the temperature difference." Chloe spoke up, letting out a murmur as she sat down, looking a little woozy as if accenting her point.

"It seems many strange things happened while Mama's been away." Irisviel hummed, Edge rolling his eyes beneath the "blindfold" in an "Oh _really?"_ manner, "I already heard much of your story from Miyu, Edge, and your stick."

"We spilled the beans." Ruby stated, hovering in from nearby.

"Not that we had much of a choice!" Edge quipped.

"I'm sorry, Illya." Miyu murmured, Illya sighing and placing her head beneath the small waterfall of the bath.

"Great… first my friends find out and now my parents…" Illya muttered.

"Now, it's time for our "Tell me, Iri-mama" segment!" Irisviel declared, Edge biting his lip as the woman whipped out a white board from seemingly nowhere. "I'll answer questions from my children based on my mood!"

" _Resist the urge Edge… do_ not _make a tsukkomi remark and reveal you can see what's going on!"_ Edge thought, Irisviel pushing the white board into the water, Edge hanging his head and letting out a long sigh, Irisviel lowering into the water.

"Now, any questions?" Irisviel asked, Illya speaking first.

"Then, tell me, Mama… what am I?" Illya requested.

"The Holy Grail War." Irisviel answered, Edge glancing at her, noting how Miyu's eyes widened in response, "As the name implies, it was a war fought over the Holy Grail."

"Holy Grail War… Edge has mentioned that…" Illya murmured, Chloe looking sullen off at the side.

"Yes. It's said that the Holy Grail can grant any wish." Irisviel explained, "You were born to become that Holy Grail… similar to how Edge was born to _win_ the war."

"That's inaccurate, Mama." Chloe said, Illya glancing at her double, "I am the one born to become the Holy Grail. Since before I was born, you continually adjusted me, implanting all kinds of knowledge into me. And yet, you sealed me away. You sealed off my functions, knowledge, and memories… Hey, Mama, when you sealed away everything I was, what were you attempting?"

"Sealed away… that doesn't sound right…" Edge murmured, his hands tightening.

"Were you trying to let me live as a normal girl? I don't mind, if that was your intention." Chloe stepped forward, giving a small sigh, then looking back at Illya, "Why grant that to Illya? Why couldn't I have stayed me? Why couldn't my memories stay my own?! Maybe you thought you were only sealing the memories, Mama. But my existence lay in those sealed memories! You erased my existence, and you never gave me a family, a home, friends, or anything normal! That's what you did to me!"

The silence from the others was palpable as Chloe's voiced wavered, the girl clearly keeping back from yelling her lungs out, visibly shaking in an attempt to remain calm, and while the kids/technical teenager were silent amid the weight of Chloe's words, Irisviel gave a calm hum, Chloe looking away.

"You're not going to say anything, are you, Mama?" Chloe wistfully muttered, shaking her head, "Fine! If you want Illya to be the one to lead a normal life, that's fine. But in that case, at least let me lead a mage's life! Return me to where I belong… Return me to the Einzberns!" The response was still silence, Chloe growling, the attempt to stay calm breaking, "What's wrong with that?! When I have nothing, what's wrong with giving me one place where I belong?!"

"Chloe, I don't think it's that simple." Edge murmured, Chloe looking at him with wide eyes, "It can't just be that simple… it never is for us magi."

"Edge is right on that point, magi never have it simple." Irisviel stated, looking at both her daughters, stopping on Chloe, "The Einzbern's are no more."

"Huh?!" Chloe gasped, Edge closing his eyes behind the blind fold.

"They're gone, everything is over." Irisviel affirmed, "The Holy Grail War no longer occurs."

"What are you saying?" Chloe murmured, stumbling back.

"Chloe, I'm similar… I was born for one purpose, to fight in and win the Holy Grail War… I've told you this. The Einzbern's are the family meant to watch over the Wars… and then ten years ago, they went completely silent, and the plan for me changed…" Edge murmured, the magical restraints on him slipping away, "I thought about it ever since I met Illya… the Einzbern's being gone was the only answer I had left."

"But then… But then, where do I belong!?" Chloe's anguished scream was met by a pillar of mana bursting up around her, the air whipping around from the force of it, any attempt to get close being blocked, "Illya stole all the places where I belonged! All the places I was meant to return to have disappeared! Eveything… I've lost everything! Nothing… I have nothing left!"

As abruptly as the mana explosion had started, it ceased just as quickly, steam being left in the air as Chloe fell silent, everyone else staring with wide eyes as her body began glowing, light drifting off… the girl fading.

"Oh… I used too much mana…" Chloe murmured, a shocked moment following from the others.

" _That was too quick! I know this world is cruel... I know none of us here had happy fates at first… but I'm not going to watch this!"_ Edge let out a growl and pulled off the blindfold, jumping into the empty bath, Chloe gasping as he bent down and kissed her, her body slowly returning to a solid appearance as mana was moved to her, the girl in shock as Edge pulled back, "I'm not letting that happen. Nothing left? You're alive! You're here, with everyone else! That's something! It doesn't matter how you were born or any of them, you're a living, breathing human being!"

"Why… why do you want to try? I'm just a false existence… what was I trying to do?" Chloe muttered, Edge shaking his head.

"False existence my ass! Then what about everything up until now? The memories you made, all the times you found a way to have fun, smile and laugh, even being hurt and crying? You're telling me all of that is fake!?" Edge objected, his expression firm, Chloe's eyes wide.

"Don't just show up and go away on your own!" Illya snapped, popping up from the side, Chloe falling to her knees, Edge putting his jacket on her shoulders, "To be honest… I'm not shocked to hear what Mama said. It's strange. Hearing that I was born to be a thaumaturgical tool… It's so crazy, it could have changed my perspective of the world. But… I'm sure the reason I'm able to stay calm is because you're the one hurting. You're bearing everything I'm meant to bear. Not just now… It's been that way since long ago, hasn't it?"

"Illya…" Edge murmured, kneeling down and patting both Illya and Chloe on their heads, though the attempted gesture fell short when Chloe's body began glowing again, "What?! I gave enough mana to last you… what's going on?!"

"Most likely… once the breakdown has started…" Ruby murmured.

"Then what should we do?!" Illya gasped, Ruby shaking her top, Miyu and Irisviel stepping over.

"Come on, there has to be something! You were made by Zelretch, you gotta have some idea in there!" Edge snapped, slamming a fist onto the floor

"Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do." Ruby replied.

"Ruby…" Illya muttered, Chloe looking between everyone present, sighing with a sad smile as she stared at Illya's falling tears.

"That's enough. If there are people who will cry when I disappear, my life had meaning." Chloe spoke, Illya shaking her head, though as she moved to put her hands on Chloe's fading shoulders, Edge however, smacked her on the head, fighting back tears of his own.

"Quit trying to act strong dammit!" Edge snapped, "Didn't I just say you were human? Stop talking like you don't matter! Yeah, you're a trouble maker and you drive me up the fucking wall, but you're still my friend, you're _our_ friend!"

"He's right!" Illya added, Chloe glancing between the two directly in her face, "Don't disappear talking about whether you had meaning or not! Didn't you have things you wanted to do?! Then wish for them! Grant your own wishes! You're the Holy Grail that grants wishes, aren't you?!"

"I…" Chloe murmured, starting to cry herself, "I want a family. I want friends. I want to fall in love. I want to live a normal, everyday life. But… More than that… More than anything… I don't want to disappear! I just… I want to live!"

Eyes widened as the light around Chloe changed from golden to a myriad of colors, the light fading to show that Chloe wasn't fading, but there as a whole, as real as any of the others.

"Chloe?" Illya murmured, Chloe opened her eyes to see she _was_ still there herself, everyone else giving small smiles as she looked between them, and in return, gave a smile of her own.

* * *

" _Someone please tell me why the heck I'm here for this!"_ Edge's mental screaming came out only as a sigh as he leaned back further on the couch of the Einzbern house, the three members of the family who _hadn't_ been aware of Chloe's existence until proper staring in shock as Irisviel presented the girl, Illya smiling off to the side, though as for what it meant… Edge wasn't sure if she was glad or trying to keep herself from screaming too.

Hopefully the former.

"This is Chloe, and starting today, she'll be living with us." Irisviel declared, Chloe holding the hem of her skirt with a shy expression.

"N-Nice to meet you." Chloe murmured.

"She's Illya's cousin?" Shirou murmured, Edge rolling his eyes off on the sidelines.

"This is the first time I've heard of it." Sella muttered.

"Don't worry about the details." Irisviel reassured, Edge's hand meeting his forehead.

"But she looks too much like Illya. Is she actually an illegitma-" Shirou was cut off by a swift elbow to the side courtesy of Sella, Edge and Illya giving small chuckles, Edge then sighing as he hung his head over the back of the sofa.

" _Maybe they should've just done this from the start."_ Edge thought, looking back over, snickering at seeing Leysritt waving a pocket in Chloe's face to try and get her attention, _"There's just gonna be more troubles for this lot from now on… but, I'm sure you two'll manage, Illya, Chloe."_

"And one more thing!" Irisviel declared, moving over and plonking a hand down on Edge's head, "I've also decided that as of today, Edge here will also be considered part of the family."

"WHAT?!" Edge yelped, looking up at Irsiviel in surprise before then shooting to his feet, "Repeat that!"

"Just as I said, I consider you part of the family."

"Okay but _whyyy?!"_ Edge yelled, speaking above the stunned silence.

"Well, considering my dear Illya is already so fond of you, why not cut down on the time and make it _almost_ a reality? Or perhaps it'll be Chloe?" Irisviel hummed, Edge's yell being joined in by Sella, while Illya and Chloe let out squeals, Leysritt as unreactive as ever, and Shirou at a clear loss for words. "That and I've always wanted to meet your family again."

"AGAIN?!" Edge yelped.

"L-Lady Irisviel, are you sure about this? I mean, they're only children! Even if the boy doesn't look it…" Sella murmured, Edge shooting a look towards the maid.

"Families used to arrange such things all the time back in older times." Irisviel stated, the historical fact not aiding her reasoning one bit, "So I figured to follow such things! Save myself a few years of searching to boot!"

"You are a dangerous person!" Edge snapped, then sighing and flopping down on the couch, "What's become of my life? How do we jump from where we were before to _this?!"_

* * *

 **A/N**

 **The curse of the Type-Moon protagonist Edge, that is how! Short but sweet this one, hehe… time for some more antics!**


End file.
